Vigil to honor Grandpa Vicha, as jury revisits case
Vigil to honor Grandpa Vicha, as jury makes decision
Prosecutors revisit the case of the death of Grandpa Vicha, five years after his attack and two weeks after the defendant was found guilty. The jury returned a decision that could alter the defendant's fate.
SAN FRANCISCO - A vigil is being held Tuesday night in San Francisco for Vicha Ratanapakdee, also known to many as Grandpa Vicha, the 84-year-old man who was shoved to the ground and killed, five years ago.
Vigil held
What we know:
Two weeks ago, Antoine Watson, the suspect in that case, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for pushing Ratanapakdee. The attack was captured on a neighbor's security camera in the Anza Vista neighborhood. This happened at the height of the pandemic when Asian Americans were the targets of violence, largely due to racist political rhetoric that blamed China for the COVID pandemic.
While the vigil marks five-years since Grandpa Vicha's death, a jury returned a decision on aggravating circumstances in the criminal case. The jury on Wednesday said that there were two aggravating factors in this homicide case.
First, the jury found that the attack was vicious. Second, they found that the elderly victim was particularly vulnerable.
What they're saying:
Prosecutors had been pushing for those aggravating factors, since they could make a difference in terms of how much prison time Watson ultimately serves.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she respects the time and effort the jury spent deliberating on the matter and that the focus now shifts to sentencing.
"I want to make sure that the message is clear in San Francisco that you don't get to attack anyone, certainly not our most vulnerable," Jenkins said. "What it means is that the defendant is now subject to the aggravated sentence, so the higher sentence for this level of manslaughter, and so we will be making a recommendation to the court for that sentencing of what we believe is appropriate and taking into account that now we can add additional time given those aggravating factors that were about to be true."
Jenkins acknowledged many in the community were disappointed by the verdict, especially within the AAPI community. Watson was charged with murder, but ultimately the jury decided on a lesser punishment, which disappointed the victim's family.
Jenkins said they re-reviewed the charges to see if there was evidence of a hate crime, but sufficient evidence was not found to pursue those heightened charges.
What's next:
Sentencing is set for February 19.
Watson could face eight to nine years in prison. Sentencing guidelines mean he'd serve at least 80% of his time, with five years that he's been in jail. The D.A. said he may not spend much more time behind bars.
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Suspect found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, assault in 'Grandpa Vicha' pushing death trial
The attack, captured on a neighbor’s security camera, shows Vicha Ratanapakdee being violently shoved to the ground.