Four of the victims were Sikh, prompting calls to examine whether the gunman was motivated by bias. Monthanus agreed, even as her worry turned to panic. SAN FRANCISCO, CAA San Francisco African-American teen accused of murdering 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in January 2021 was ordered to stand trial, a judge ruled Friday.. Anita Nabha, 20-year-old Antoine Watson's attorney, said he was distressed after a "stressful encounter with police hours earlier" and may not have known the man was elderly, reports the San . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "These violent assaults have a devastating impact on our community as they are part of an alarming rise in anti-Asian American hate during the COVID-19 pandemic," Stop AAPI Hate co foundersManjusha Kulkarni and Cynthia Choi said in a joint statement. I told him to walk that way. Can I see my father? she asked. ALSO READ: Suspects Sought In Home Invasion Robbery Of Elderly Woman In San Francisco. The long impact of the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee My wife and I thought, Could it be? Jeung recalled. Boudin says Antoine Watson was . She is a 2021-22 Knight-Wallace reporting fellow at the University of Michigan and an inaugural recipient of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. To fully appreciate the challenges that Wan and Lacoste face requires understanding the forces that have shaped that neighborhood, and many others, over decades redlining and employment discrimination, the long shadow of multiple tech booms, the burden of street violence, inadequate mental-health care, surging homelessness, the police response to all of it. Security footage showed the assailant R Tuesday morning, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin denounced the recent rise in violent crimes in the city, particularly the fatal assaults on Ratanapakdee and 76-year-old private investigator Jack Palladino. CONTACTS:. SF Rally to Mark 1-Year Anniversary of Fatal Attack on Vicha Ratanapakdee At the rallies they attended, every now and then a different Black man approached the microphone, or met with the couple on the sidelines, and tried his best to break the ice. There may be a logic behind that. The future me, the real me, says, I wish we could forgive everybody, and everybody should acknowledge this bad thing happened. And right now it feels like, maybe, his family sees me as an enemy. Legal Statement. a white gunman killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Murder charges expected in attack on famed private eye | AP News He said she didnt want to go to court; she just wanted to bury it. Wans group, Community Youth Center, responded by opening a new office in Bayview-Hunters Point, where the attacks occurred. He was booked on suspicion of murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. District Attorney Chesa Boudin has said Goo was seated in the car and played no apparent role in the attack. She turned around to my son and said, Eff you, little boy. Each incident left her in shock and compelled her to attend the vigil. Im not a judge. A nurse came in and explained that the surgeon hadnt been able to stop the bleeding. A long, thick tube protruded from Vichas head. A surveillance video captured what happened next. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "I can't even imagine what his family is going through right now. Vicha had lost so much blood by then that even if a second operation succeeded, he would almost certainly lose his most basic functions for the rest of his life. SAN FRANCISCO (CN) Following shockingly brutal attacks that left two elderly men dead last week, San Francisco officials on Tuesday sought to dispel perceptions that the city is soft on crime under the administration of a progressive, reform-minded district attorney. A homicide detective gave his condolences and said they were planning to charge the attack as a murder. The rallies had become a place where the couple could not only feel less alone in their grief but also seek answers they couldnt seem to get elsewhere. Everyone fell silent. . Mr. Nawabi described Mr. Watson as someone who had struggled with anger. Judge orders detention for teen held in fatal attack | Archives As he was escorted out of the courtroom, an older woman later identified as his grandmother shouted, "I love you Antoine! who was violently pushed and killed by Antoine Watson in . Antoine Watson, 19, . During the pandemic, Vicha usually left the house before 8 a.m. and made it back before his grandsons started their Zoom classes. Monthanus arrived at the steps of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, an imposing concrete building that spans a city block, where Antoine Watson was scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing. When I see photos of these Asian elders who have been attacked, the actor Simu Liu wrote in Variety, I see the embodiment of my own parents journey; their dreams and their struggles, their sorrow and their unwavering optimism. The video was taken from the same angle as the clip that everyone saw, only this footage was longer. A local ABC News affiliate had posted footage from a surveillance camera. College students, high schoolers and middle schoolers organized or attended rallies in their hometowns. In the past year, researchers and activist groups have tallied thousands of racist incidents against Asian-Americans, a surge in hate that they link to former President Donald J. Trump repeatedly referring to the coronavirus as the Chinese virus. Mr. Vichas family described his killing as racially motivated, and it spurred a campaign to raise awareness by many prominent Asian-Americans, who used the online hashtags #JusticeForVicha and #StopAsianHate. "You will be held accountable by both the police and the District Attorney. By William McCurry. He died of a brain hemorrhage in a San Francisco hospital two days later. / CBS San Francisco. I think a lot of that grief and anger and scapegoating continues to be directed toward Asians.. . It was the type of forceful body blow that might have knocked unconscious a young football player in full protective pads. . He has pleaded not guilty but his lawyer admits that his client had an outburst of rage.. She thought about her father in the back of the car with the kids, their banter when she got ready for work in the morning. Our seniors are afraid to walk their own streets, Mr. Chan said. The alleged killer is Daly City resident Antoine Watson, who was 19 at the time of the seemingly unprovoked sidewalk attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood. LAPD INVESTIGATES KOREATOWN ASSAULT ON AIR FORCE VETERAN DENNY KIM AS POSSIBLE HATE CRIME, According to theTimes, Boudin saidthatRatanapakdee'sdeath was heinous, but that there is no evidence to suggest the attackwas motivated by racial animus. Eric held her, and she held her sons. A judge in San Francisco ruled Friday that Antoine Watson will stand trial in the brutal death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. These conversations surfaced the memory of Black Americans killed senselessly by Asian perpetrators, too Latasha Harlins, the young teenager carrying $2 and a bottle of orange juice, shot to death by a Korean American shopkeeper in 1991; Akai Gurley, an unarmed young father shot to death in a dark stairwell by a Chinese American police officer in 2014. You have to live longer so you can watch Titus graduate from college!. 2021, 19-year-old Antoine Watson, was just "having some sort of temper tantrum" when he killed him. She never got to decide. For his family, the death has been devastating both in California and abroad. During her own speech that day, which she wrote by hand and rehearsed the night before, Monthanus told the crowd to call the city, including the police, for help when necessary. He washed his face, put on a baseball cap and face mask and told his wife he would have the coffee she had prepared for him when he returned. She felt similarly snubbed after asking the advocate about applying for compensation for lost wages. The neighborhood of Anza Vista, tucked on a hilltop away from traffic, was usually quiet. A close friend, also searching, sent her two links that vaguely mentioned Vicha, including an article published in Chinese by KTSF, a local outlet serving a primarily Chinese American audience. Suspect In Deadly Assault Of 84-Year-Old San Francisco Man - CBS News But one day last year, while biking near her house, an elderly man shouted at her, You dont belong here. Another time, while walking around the neighborhood with her son, they waved and smiled at a young lady who was listening to music and dancing. Antoine didnt wake up Jan. 28, 2021, with the idea of shoving somebody down and killing them, regardless of their race or gender. A lawyer for Antoine Watson, the defendant, argued that the case should be charged as involuntary manslaughter because he had no intent to kill. When she made it to the hill, she noticed a neighbor working in his garage and asked if he knew where the episode happened the other day. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. His older daughter, Monthanus, described her father as a devoted Buddhist. He was the one who encouraged her to go to the United States, the reason she started her life here. Stories like Vichas inspired some to start neighborhood-patrol groups to accompany elders on their walks to and from home, scan the streets for suspicious activity and, in some cases, call the police to intervene. San Francisco DA dismisses killing as a 'temper tantrum' hitType: 'event', The Thai grandfather had just survived his heart surgery 9 months before, and his doctor told him to walk daily for his exercise. At the first rally, a month earlier in March, several hundred people gathered here in support of her family. Lucas Manfredi is a general assignment reporter for Fox News. I wonder if its my inner racism coming out. The hearing was brief and procedural; a trial date has yet to be set. Teen facing murder pleads not guilty in death of elder How many Vicha Ratanapakdees need to happen before you see anything at all?. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle. The day after Monthanus and Erics first TV appearance, San Franciscos district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse. Then, on March 16, a white gunman in the Atlanta area drove to several businesses and shot eight people to death. I know thats totally crazy, he said, but I get that feeling sometimes. After reading about an Asian American teenager in the Los Angeles area who was hospitalized in February after being bullied about Covid, Jeung contacted colleagues at two advocacy groups in California. Your father is a victim. (Under California law, families of victims are eligible for work compensation only if a minor died or was hospitalized.). Police . New images have continued to surface on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. Just who is it attacking Asian Americans? | Washington Examiner Activists Protest 'White Supremacy' After Black Man Arrested For Attack The Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden in May, primarily aims to improve crime reporting and data collection. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Monthanus and Eric posed for photos and signed a petition to recall Chesa Boudin, as people stopped to greet them with elbow bumps and condolences. Im going to take care of you. ET on March 15. I believe people are better than the worst things they have done," said Breed. Asian Americans in San Francisco are leading the campaign to recall the city's far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin on June 7. . In another week, her sons would go back to school, and Monthanus, a food-safety inspector for the city school district, would be back at work. And you have to take responsibility for the pain and the suffering you caused.". It was the second such march in a week; the first, in Oakland, California, also drew dozens of supporters, many of them carrying signs demanding that racism be stamped out, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, KGO obtained surveillance footage which apparently shows Antoine Watson, 19, knocking down Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, in front of his San Francisco home.Officers reportedly discovered Ratanapakdee on a sidewalk and rendered aid before paramedics rushed him to the hospital . What is incontrovertible, say leaders of the Asian-American community nationwide, is that the pandemic created a climate of fear and a feeling of insecurity from New York to California. Monthanus wondered at first, her mind thick with shock. An 84-year-old man was killed after he was brutally attacked on a San Francisco street. Safety of San Francisco questioned after fatal attacks | KRON4 The San Francisco Chronicle reports supporters of the victim's family packed the courtroom wearing "justice for Vicha" t-shirts.. Video of the incident went viral and came to symbolize the spike in anti-Asian hate, although the San Francisco District Attorney . ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); On that morning a number of security cameras in the area captured Mr. Watson banging a car with his hand, according to Mr. Boudin, the district attorney. Watson was arrested along with a female associate he was with at the time of the assault. Antoine Watson of Daly City, age 21, was arrested for Murder Assault w/Deadly Weapon Or Assault w/Force Likely To Produce GBI Elder Or Dependent Adult Abuse in San Francisco County, California on January 30, 2021 by San Francisco County Sheriff. As she watched the parade of flowers and ashes float out to sea, she spoke to him. (His mother is Mexican, and he identifies as mixed race; strangers often assume he is white. She remains puzzled why on the morning of the attack he left without his Buddhist amulet, a talisman of protection that he always wore around his neck. The number of submissions grew steadily throughout the year, reaching a total of 2,800 by the end of 2020. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin hassparked outrage on social mediaafter telling the New York Times that 19-year-old AntoineWatsonwas "in some sort of a temper tantrum" when he allegedly attacked84-year-oldThai immigrant Vichar Ratanapakdee. Watson is accused in the deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28. hitType: 'event', Otherwise youre going to have that forever. SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - An 84-year-old California man is dead after a seemingly random daylight attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco, video from ABC 7 News shows. Surveillance video showed Ratanapakdee walking in the driveway of a home when the suspect barrels him into the victim violently, knocking him to the ground before the suspect casually walks away in the same direction he came from. After her father died, Monthanus had given up her night job processing customs paperwork for an import-export company to help watch the kids. The Cost Of Raising Many Children Isn't Just About The Money Market data provided by Factset. A San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the man accused of murdering an 84-year-old Thai immigrant a case that invigorated a movement to stop violence . If you miss Grandpa, she told him, go to his photo and say hi. Troy walked up to two framed portraits of his grandfather that now hung side by side on the wall. Mr. Watsons lawyer, Sliman Nawabi, a public defender, said his client would not have been able to identify Mr. Vichas ethnicity through his face mask, cap and winter clothing. It was then that Mr. Vicha walked up Anzavista Avenue, a street with views of skyscrapers in the citys financial district. Please enter valid email address to continue. A preliminary hearing for the man accused of fatally pushing Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco last year commenced on Tuesday, reigniting calls for justice and an end to anti-Asian violence. Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year old immigrant from Thailand, was preparing to go on his early morning walk in the quiet Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco on Saturday, January 28, 2021. But Jeung grew wary when a doctor asked him if he had recently been to China, and again when he learned that his relatives had been marooned at a hotel near the airport after being told they couldnt board their flight back home. Monthanus could now see her father enter the frame as he climbed up the hill and to a corner where he would have continued straight. The day after Monthanus and Eric's first TV appearance, San Francisco's district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse . The neighbor didnt appear to speak English, but he pointed toward her and shouted, Right there! Monthanus looked down. The suspects have been identified as Antoine Watson, 19, and Maylasia Goo, 20, both of . Antoine, he shouted, holding up the baby. One hundred days after her fathers death, Monthanus boarded a boat with Eric, their sons and a few friends. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has sparked outrage on social media after telling the New York Times that 19-year-old Antoine Watson was "in some sort of a temper tantrum" when he . ga('ads.send', { or redistributed. / CBS San Francisco. Love you, dude. The young man repeated himself. But once he does, we should work out some kind of situation where we could forgive somehow and move on with our life. He must be happy now, because hes not coming back anymore! And sometimes, when they were alone and the guilt swelled inside Monthanus, she fell apart. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. For months Mr. Vicha had been pining to return to Thailand but was unable to because of the pandemic. Boudin, who started his term just a few months before the lockdown, in January 2020, inherited more than 5,000 criminal prosecutions. Two days after Vicha died, Eric created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral, which included a photo of Vicha and a description of his assailant derived from a mix of facts and raw emotion: A despicable 19-year-old thug that came to his neighborhood in a stolen vehicle and decided to prove how tough he was by brutalizing a senior citizen, Eric wrote. Allen Martin reports on the first court appearance by the 19-year-old suspect who fatally assaulted an 84-year-old San Francisco man last week (2-3-2021) There were several violent crimes in San Francisco on Thursday, the article began. She debated whether to show it to her mother, who had become more fragile after a recent stroke. We dont know how to attribute this rise in reporting, he told me. It also encourages those agencies to raise awareness about the impact of hate crimes and the services available to victims. Surveillance video from a camera across the street captured the moment of impact. For his grieving family, the reckoning hasnt gone far enough. Monthanus ran to her fathers side and held his hand. March 3, 2023 12:27 pm ET. Update: Suspect In Brutal Assault That Killed Elderly San Francisco Man Why you looking at me? and then a crushing sound., Watson pleaded not guilty. After the attack, as her father lay on the ground, a couple driving by stopped to place a blanket on him. Most of the victims were Asian.. A few days later, Eric asked me if I saw the news about the recent attack on Carl Chan, the head of Oaklands Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has been a vocal supporter of increasing foot patrols and camera surveillance in the neighborhood. That he still had a life ahead of him. 84-year-old Thai grandfather brutally pushed over and killed by hitType: 'event', Family believes attack of 84-year-old man in San Francisco was racial motivated. She said: You are not a victim. After Vicha died, Eric says, he saw so many videos, video after video of attacks in the news. ), The next morning, Eric called the tip lines for several local news stations and left messages for reporters, inviting them to the Hall of Justice, where he and Monthanus were scheduled to meet with homicide detectives. As Monthanus poured the water, she felt her breath shorten, bit by bit, until she was gasping for air. 'Very open to the idea': Julia Wandelt takes DNA test to verify if she is missing Swiss girl Livia Schepp, Kayla Lemieux: Teacher with prosthetic Z-cup breasts suspended WITH PAY after pics show her dressed as man, Michael Schneider: Psychic detective gives '100%' verdict on whether Julia Wandelt is Madeleine McCann, Lindsay Clancy case: Psychologist reveals psychosis red flags family members could have spotted, 'I'd be horrified if my kids did that': Internet slams eight-year-old's pregnant mom for enabling 'disgusting' behavior. . Vicha and his first grandson, Titus Lawson, in 2009. (CBS), deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28, pled not guilty to charges of murder and elder abuse causing death, and that any perpetrators would "be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,", Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. Monthanus and Eric had been busy arranging her fathers funeral while fielding phone calls and messages from family, friends and strangers. Youre going to survive, Dad, Monthanus told him. Its the everyday little microaggressions and little nuances thats harder to tackle.. Last year Ms. Monthanus, Mr. Vichas daughter, was twice accosted on the street by people who told her to leave the country because, the attackers said, Asians had caused the coronavirus. He's currently . A photograph of Vicha Ratanapakdee that hangs in his daughters home. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ Monthanus and her parents subscribed to a Buddhist belief that, after death, the soul takes 100 days to reach the afterlife. Ratanapakdee is seen walking in the driveway of a home when the suspect barrels him into the victim violently, knocking him to the ground before the suspect casually walks away in the same direction he came from. There was no longer any way to ignore the violence that was happening to people who look like us., Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of neighboring Daly City, was arrested two days after the attack and charged with murder and elder abuse. The man had accepted a plea agreement for domestic-violence charges, and afterward his victim asked the judge if she could say a few words. On Twitter and elsewhere, Asian Americans lit up their feeds with an outpouring of grief and rage. Walking was how he explored San Francisco when he first arrived there from Thailand in 2000, to spend a year with Monthanus while she attended business school, and again in 2018, to help take care of her two sons. But the legal tampering window opens two days before that on March 13, where teams will be able to negotiate with free agents before the official start of the 2023 season. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { On the corner where Vicha paused in his steps, theres a view of the bay and the skyscrapers downtown. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This was the 70th. In an unprovoked attack, Antoine Watson, 19, charged at Vichar Ratanapakdee, 84, on Thursday during the senior's morning walk. The San Francisco District Attorneys office stated on Monday, February 8, that their detention plan to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. In the past week the California Legislature approved $1.4 million in funding to track and research racist incidents against Asian-Americans. SAN FRANCISCO Weary of being cooped inside during the pandemic, Vicha Ratanapakdee was impatient for his regular morning walk. She wakes up crying; she goes to sleep crying, Steiner said. San Francisco police arrest man who filmed attack of elderly Asian man collecting recyclables, Man punches elderly woman in head as she walks and then plays the victim in shocking random attack in Brooklyn. Where did the assault happen? I met Monthanus one breezy afternoon in April at Wat Nagara Dhamma, a Buddhist temple outfitted inside a small two-story house across the street from Golden Gate Park. She knew what he would say if he were here now. A San Francisco man accused of killing an 84-year-old Thai grandfather in an attack that galvanized Asian Americans and helped spur a successful recall of the city's liberal prosecutor was ordered . I just want to know why he did it. Public safety is a lot bigger than the ability to arrest or prosecute someone, says Tinisch Hollins, who runs the advocacy group Californians for Safety and Justice. ", When asked outside the courtroom what she wanted to see happen, Watson's grandmother said, "To see him walk out this door like I'm walking out right now.". Give him a chance, she could hear her father saying. Often, the natural human response is to want someone to blame for the pain that youre experiencing. He added, Although our system is pretty effective at processing cases and punishing, were not effective at providing the kinds of answers to families in pain and need to feel a sense of closure, or to be able to move on with their lives after suffering often unthinkable harm., Most states 48, as well as the District of Columbia have laws addressing hate crimes that are motivated by a victims race, religion or sexual orientation, among other classifications.
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