In July, however, the F.B.I. But we dont want to give up, because unless everybodys safe in that community, nobody is., Lyslynn Lacoste, who runs a city program called BMAGIC and works with Wans group, told me that undoing misperceptions between communities had no quick fix. There were debates among Black residents about what contributed to the shortage of affordable housing, Lacoste says, but tension also took subtler, more pervasive forms the kind she could feel most recently at a neighborhood beauty-supply store when an Asian clerk followed her as she shopped. . Asian Americans in San Francisco are leading the campaign to recall the city's far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin on June 7. . 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 . As they waited for Antoines hearing to start, Monthanus and Eric watched from the front row of the gallery as the judge heard a series of other cases. . Monthanus wondered at first, her mind thick with shock. 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. She is a 2021-22 Knight-Wallace reporting fellow at the University of Michigan and an inaugural recipient of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/us/asian-american-hate-crimes.html. Ms. Monthanus says she and her family will charter a boat under the Golden Gate Bridge and scatter some into the Pacific Ocean. A judge in San Francisco ruled Friday that Antoine Watson will stand trial in the brutal death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Give him a chance, she could hear her father saying. who was violently pushed and killed by Antoine Watson in . In each case, the suspects were Black. 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. Titus, dressed in a black suit and a pair of his grandfathers leather loafers that fit tight around his growing feet, chased his little brother around the deck. A photograph of Vicha Ratanapakdee that hangs in his daughters home.CreditKevin Kunishi for The New York Times. Maylasia Goo also arrested. Antoine Watson, 19, has been held in County Jail since being arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly charging into 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee two days earlier in the Anza Vista neighborhood. He has pleaded not guilty but his lawyer admits that his client had an outburst of rage.. All rights reserved. (Eric, who worked at two restaurants as a server and manager before the pandemic, was on unemployment.) 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. hitType: 'event', 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. . On January 28, 2021, 84-year-old Thai man Vicha Ratanapakdee was knocked to the pavement and killed in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood. The killing of Vicha was so plain as day, said Will Lex Ham, a New York-based actor, who after watching the video flew from New York to San Francisco to help lead protests and safety patrols in Asian neighborhoods. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Police said they were quickly able to identify Watson as the assault suspect. In March, Jeung says, Stop AAPI Hate received roughly 2,800 reports, about the same number he received in all of 2020. Initial investigation by SIT/General Crimes Unit identified the male suspect as 19-year-old Antoine Watson of Daly City and the female associate as 20-year-old Maylasia Goo of Daly City. Legal Statement. 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. 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 . Mr. Nawabi described Mr. Watson as someone who had struggled with anger. 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. . The weeks went on, and Monthanus and Eric sank deeper into their grief as their suspicions mounted toward homicide investigators, who never seemed able to give a straight answer; toward the district attorney, who seemed to put his interests before theirs; and toward Antoine Watson, about whom they knew little beyond the gaping hole he left in their lives. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/magazine/vicha-ratanapakdee.html. Knowing what happened with SARS, how Asians were going to get shunned, harassed, he says, referring to the 2003 outbreak, I was just personally and sociologically alerted to racism., Jeung set up search alerts for Asian American and discrimination. The results confirmed his fears. SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The suspect in the brutal assault that fatally injured an 84-year-old San Francisco resident last week entered a not guilty plea to a homicide charge during a court appearance Wednesday. After interviewing prosecutors across more than 30 states, Avlana Eisenberg, a law professor at Florida State University, found that district attorneys offices often avoid adding hate-crime charges even and perhaps especially when the crime is particularly horrific, she wrote in The Atlantic this year. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! / CBS San Francisco. 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. As he was escorted out of the courtroom, an older woman later identified as his grandmother shouted, "I love you Antoine! Mayor London Breed and Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered condolences. A photograph of Vicha Ratanapakdee that hangs in his daughters home. The suspects have been identified as Antoine Watson, 19, and Maylasia Goo, 20, both of . Otherwise, her mother believed, Vichas soul couldnt leave the earth and start its journey toward the afterlife. } We also identified his female associate as 20-year-old Maylasia Goo also of Daly . Solidarity is what it should be, she says. The submissions came from 31 states and the District of Columbia, with nearly half the reports originating in California and New York. San Francisco's chief prosecutor addressed the January death of Vicha Ratanapakdee at a time when many Asian Americans feel targeted based on their race. This was the 70th. In the next life, I hope Ill get to be your daughter again. Wheres Grandpa? Troy asked her. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); Elderly Thai man in San Francisco killed by teen in unprovoked attack. The San Francisco District Attorney's office told KPIX 5 on Monday that their detention motion to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. Legal Statement. In order to raise 10 children in the San Francisco Bay Area, we should assume Antoine Watson's parents make at least $300,000 a year. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Now they wanted action. Antoine Watson held in attack on 84-year-old victim. It was the first court appearance of 19-year-old Daly City resident Antoine Watson since he was arrested for the assault this past weekend. Inside, Monthanus held her composure as her frustration grew. In recent years, the Asian percentage of the Bayviews population has become five times as large as it was in 1980, while the Black share has shrunk by more than half. These laws can add time to an underlying sentence; in California, they can extend a sentence by three years. Saturday evening at approximately 8:45 p.m., officers served a search warrant on the 500 block of Lisbon Street in Daly City and located Watson and Goo, who were arrested without incident. Watson, along with his accomplice in the killing, pled "not guilty" at their court hearings. Thats not who he is. Steiner, who was Antoines elementary-school principal, said he needed mental-health support, not prison time. I want to know why, she said. Jaeah Lee is a magazine journalist based in San Francisco, with a focus on criminal justice. And though half of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Bay Area are low- or very-low-income, as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (a quarter live in high-income households), they are often seen as beneficiaries of rising inequality. The way he greeted her with relief when she came home late from work. The video was taken from the same angle as the clip that everyone saw, only this footage was longer. A witness told police officers that Mr. Watson said something to the effect of What are you looking at? A security camera located inside a neighbors apartment captured Mr. Watson charging across the pavement toward Mr. Vicha, who briefly turned to his assailant before the impact. } These stories have prompted continuous news coverage and social-media obsession, and beneath it all there lurks a desire to understand what is driving the attacks and how, exactly, race is playing a role. In the hours before the attack, Mr. Watson had a string of setbacks. Nawabi described the incident as an impulsive unmotivated assault that resulted from the mental-health breakdown of a teenager. It was heartbreaking. Shortly after Vicha was pronounced dead, Monthanuss phone rang. Officers arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a Daly City home. Otherwise youre going to have that forever. Monthanus sat on her bed that evening with Eric and their 11-year-old son, Titus, Googling her fathers age and the cross street where she found the stain. In the appeal, the family asked residents in San Francisco to contact the local district attorney Chesa Boudin to ensure that Antoine Watson and Ms Maylasia Goo, a 19-year-old woman charged as an accessory to the crime, face the full force of the law for what they describe as a racially motivated hate crime. "I can't even imagine what his family is going through right now. I got everything back the house key, even the quarter. Eric fixated on the footage, too. She wanted to keep him alive. Ratanapakdee's head hit the pavement as he fell. After the attack, as her father lay on the ground, a couple driving by stopped to place a blanket on him. She lowered her head and opened her palms to touch the rug three times. Two suspects have been arrested. SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) A man charged in the brutal assault of an 84-year-old San Francisco man that was captured on video last month will remain in custody following a court hearing Monday. She wasnt sure if Troy even knew what was happening. It was still early, Monthanus reminded herself, but she also couldnt shake the feeling that the world seemed to be moving on. You can dial 311 or 911, she reminded them. Its not because we feel bad, Monthanus told me one evening while sitting on the bed where her father used to sleep, Titus playing video games nearby. Antoine didnt wake up Jan. 28, 2021, with the idea of shoving somebody down and killing them, regardless of their race or gender. 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. pg.acq.push(function() { Police pulled over and handcuffed Antoine Watson hours before he allegedly killed an 84-year-old Thai man in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood last year, according to a timeline that . A former public defender, Boudin was part of a new wave of progressive prosecutors who entered office the year before with the promise of reform. Believe Attack Was Racially Motivated., Vichas story joined a cluster of reports about attacks on Asian elders in four cities. She shut the laptop and told Titus to leave the room. He told me that Watson lost his job and support structure during the pandemic; in addition to attending college classes and working at FedEx, he had previously gone to therapy and taken medication. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. }); SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: A teenager charged in the brutal assault of an 84-year-old San Francisco man that was captured on video in January 2021, will remain in custody following a court hearing on Monday, February 15. That evening, the couple stood at the doorway to her fathers room on the third-floor intensive-care unit. He had just gone to dinner with a few relatives visiting from Beijing. Monthanus and Eric voted for him. Then, on March 16, a white gunman in the Atlanta area drove to several businesses and shot eight people to death. a 91-year-old shoved to the ground in Chinatown in Oakland, Calif., a white gunman in the Atlanta area drove to several businesses and shot eight people to death. You have to live longer so you can watch Titus graduate from college!. A young man in a gas mask and a bulletproof vest said he had flown in from New York City after seeing the video. Eric, who grew up near San Jose, described himself as someone who never thought much about race during his upbringing. Only one agreed. Body camera footage of the encounter led officers to identify Watson and a female associate he was with at the time of the assault. Boudin, who started his term just a few months before the lockdown, in January 2020, inherited more than 5,000 criminal prosecutions. }); Some assailants have yelled slurs while throwing a punch or slashing at their victims with a knife. The killing of a Thai man in America has given voice to a united community under the umbrella of an Asian-American identity. After her father died, Monthanus had given up her night job processing customs paperwork for an import-export company to help watch the kids. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle. According to the San Francisco District Attorney's office, Watson had been observed and contacted by San Francisco Police officers earlier that Thursday morning for traffic infractions resulting in a minor collision. The streets were quiet. 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. Footage of the incident showed Ratanapakdee hitting his head on the pavement before sliding into a garage door. Around midnight, after Eric and the boys went to bed, the two women drove to the corner with a bucket, gloves and a dish brush. His brothers and sisters are there, Ms. Monthanus said. In November, another old man spat in her direction as her sons rode their scooters by the bay. In April, Monthanus and Eric attended a rally opposite City Hall, where a hundred or so people gathered on a sandy plaza for speeches and martial-arts demonstrations. 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 . How long did he lie outside before an ambulance arrived? Through her organization, Hollins, who lost two brothers to homicide in the last decade, assists victims of crime and lobbies to increase support services provided by the state. "But when you cross that line, when you commit murder, when you take someone's life like that, we as a city and as a society have to hold you accountable for your actions. By then, Boudin had told reporters that there was no evidence from the police suggesting that Vichas death was motivated by racial animus. The first one involved Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old San Francisco man of Thai descent, who was on his routine morning walk in late January when a man in a hoodie charged in his direction and . Investigators interviewed some 100 people and reviewed 175,000 computer files, some of which indicated that the gunman had visited white-supremacist websites. He has pled not guilty to charges of murder and elder abuse causing death. Watson, the suspect identified in Ratanapakdee's murder,wasarrested and chargedwith murder and elder abuse. When her mother saw the video, she stiffened. For the past two years, Monthanus had started taking care of her parents more intensely, after her mother was diagnosed with dementia and her father with three clogged arteries. Love you, dude. The young man repeated himself. 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. An assailant, later identified by police as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, came barreling . Watson and his associate, 20-year-old Malaysia Goo, were arrested on January 30 without incident. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' There may be a logic behind that. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. When she came back in, she noticed his tablet was gone. SAN FRANCISCOAntoine Watson, 19, who was arrested on January 30 for the deadly assault on an elderly man, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, was held without bail after a court hearing on Monday, February 8. There was no longer any way to ignore the violence that was happening to people who look like us, Mr. Ham said. ), 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. 3 min read. For months Mr. Vicha had been pining to return to Thailand but was unable to because of the pandemic. Antoine Watson appears in court during a previous hearing. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), by Anh L. Throughout 2020, multiple strangers had come at her seemingly out of nowhere. We said, Dad, we are going to go back soon! Ms. Monthanus recalled. Its still there. When a sibling bullies another sibling, and then they go to school, and then they bully other kids, its like a chain reaction., Then there was Monthanus and Eric. Watson and his associate, 20-year-old Malaysia Goo, were arrested on January 30, 2021. Amy Ratanapakdee thanked San Francisco police for quickly finding and arresting 19-year-old Antoine Watson and 20-year-old Malaysia Goo for her father's attack and subsequent death. Hi! he shouted over and over. Ratanapakdee was brought to San Francisco General Hospital, but he eventually died on Saturday. Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting from Bangkok. San Francisco police arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a home in Daly City. He Came From Thailand to Care For Family. March 3, 2023 12:27 pm ET. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. One witness at the scene told officers that he saw a Black male, 18 to 30 years old, approach and stand over an elderly man lying on the ground. The footage is grainy and brief: A tall figure suddenly darts across a street and slams into a much smaller one; the smaller figure crumples onto the pavement and doesnt get back up; the white baseball cap flutters to the ground, like a leaf falling from a tree. We were like, Is this a hate crime? He was like, I cant talk about this, Eric says. Earlier that week, two more videos emerged from New York City of a man in Times Square stomping on a woman on her way to church; of a man punching and choking another man on the J train. There is outrage over San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin's description of the man police say pushed over and killed an 84-year-old in San Francisco.