Monthanus didnt always agree with her father, but she loved his spirit. The Oakland attacks came as many in the Bay Area began changing their social media photos to bring awareness to the seemingly unprovoked killing of an 84-year-old Thai man in San Francisco last month. ALSO READ: Suspects Sought In Home Invasion Robbery Of Elderly Woman In San Francisco. 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. Evan Sernoffsky reports. }); Left, Mr. Vicha holding his young daughter next to his wife. His orange jumpsuit fit loosely over his tall frame, chains linking his wrists, his hair growing out. Considering him being 19 or even older now, he is no longer a child and is capable enough to keep his hands to himself. Anyone who thinks San Francisco is an easy touch, you need to think twice." . But AAPI still attacked, deeper, deeper every day. "New state funding allows the data gathering to continue, and the research will ultimately lead us to solutions that will make all communities safer.". Monthanuss body went numb. 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. 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. Theres been a half-million deaths. }); 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. This unfortunate assault has to do with a break in the mental health of a teenager. The mainstream media does not spotlight our stories enough, Nguyen said into the camera, urging her vast following to share the story and tag CNN and MSNBC. He has pled not guilty to charges of murder and elder abuse causing death. In the past week the California Legislature approved $1.4 million in funding to track and research racist incidents against Asian-Americans. An 84-year-old man was killed after he was brutally attacked on a San Francisco street. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ She shut the laptop and told Titus to leave the room. On Jan. 15, he received the first shot of the Moderna vaccine. },false) He has pled not guilty to charges of murder and elder abuse causing death. But maybe were going to be hurt forever anyway.. Please enter valid email address to continue. There will be consequences. It was then that Mr. Vicha walked up Anzavista Avenue, a street with views of skyscrapers in the citys financial district. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. But I dont want it to be like that. How could it have been prevented? As Vicha recovered from each operation, Monthanus had slept on the floor next to his bed, comforting him through the pain. 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. . San Francisco's district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse. "I can't even imagine what his family is going through right now. Still, at a time when demands for racial justice have rocked a demographically evolving nation, the killing of Mr. Vicha was notable for the galvanizing anger it brought to a diverse group that encompasses people of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. who was violently pushed and killed by Antoine Watson in . 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. Whenever she left the house, she tested a can of pepper spray in the bathroom, the fumes burning her eyes, before tucking it in her pocket. I told him to walk that way. One was that there was a pattern of Black perpetrators and Asian victims, that the pattern was a symptom of a tension dating back decades. Monthanus agreed, even as her worry turned to panic. Officers arrested Antoine Watson, 19, and his female companion . But the overwhelming majority of hate-crime perpetrators are white.). In an unprovoked attack, Antoine Watson, 19, charged at Vichar Ratanapakdee, 84, on Thursday during the senior's morning walk. Watson entered a not guilty plea to charges of murder . No one had been able to identify Vicha his pockets contained a quarter and a pair of keys. },false) hitType: 'event', Since his retirement in 1996 from Kasikornbank, one of Thailands largest financial institutions, Mr. Vicha had traveled between San Francisco, where his eldest daughter lives, and Thailand, where his youngest does. Monthanus squatted and scrubbed as her mother poured a jug of water over the concrete, the headlights shining behind them. We were like, Is this a hate crime? He was like, I cant talk about this, Eric says. 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. In the absence of any sense of resolution, the couple began searching for clues on their own. Its nonstop, you know? She thought about the people she had met at the rallies who had quit their jobs to patrol or speak out full time. This January, Vicha was eager to regain his stamina after a recent series of heart operations, so that he could walk again for longer distances. Other celebrities joined in. I have this weird, stupid fantasy, Eric said. } . An assailant, later identified by police as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, came barreling . Activists have argued the rise in hate incidentsshows a pattern of abuse related to blame placed on the Asian American community for the coronavirus pandemic. He didnt take anything from my father, not even the tablet, she says. One of the biggest flaws of hate-crime laws, she says, is their focus on punishment. 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. 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. ga('ads.send', { But inevitably they would get in the car with a poster of Vicha in the back. She told her husband, Eric Lawson, who rushed home from the restaurant where he worked. Security footage showed the assailant R His 20-year-old accomplice who was in the car at the time was also arrested. That afternoon, the couple taped their first interview, with the KTVU reporter Evan Sernoffsky, near the courthouse steps. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ According to the San Francisco District Attorney's office, Watson had been observed and contacted by San Francisco Police officers earlier that morning for traffic infractions resulting in a minor collision and was issued a citation. I think a lot of that grief and anger and scapegoating continues to be directed toward Asians.. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! When her mother saw the video, she stiffened. The whole family is in deep agony, Jennifer Steiner, a longtime friend whom Antoines mother chose to speak on her behalf, told me. But the steps were nearly empty. Owners of gun stores reported more Asian customers than ever before. When Wan first set up her branch there, the Bayview was in the midst of a drastic demographic shift that was occurring throughout the region, marked by an influx of Asians and an exodus of Black residents. The 2023 salary cap has already been set . 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. Officers arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a Daly City home. She wanted to keep him alive. Another person claiming to be Vichas son had set up a fund-raiser in his name. Watson, along with his accomplice in the killing, pled "not guilty" at their court hearings. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ "Look, I believe in second chances. Its still there. The law was celebrated for recognizing the need to better track violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It also encourages those agencies to raise awareness about the impact of hate crimes and the services available to victims. Watson is accused in the deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28. The streets were quiet. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { A web camera streamed the ceremony for friends and family abroad. 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 . eventAction: 'click_image_ads' 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. 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. His mother, who was also laid off from her job during lockdown, found work through relatives in another state and was, for a while, supporting the family from afar. District Attorney responds to the . He's currently . Their marigold robes glowed in the sun. Monthanus wondered at first, her mind thick with shock. The amulet, a precious family heirloom, will be passed to the next generation, Ms. Monthanus said. The group filed out to the edge of the deck. All rights reserved. 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. 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. I want to know what happened. The family of a Thai senior citizen who died after being violently knocked to the . After several weeks, the advocate replied that the office didnt have the budget to hire a translator. When Monthanus had a gripe with the landlord or a stranger who crossed her, he would tell her to let it go, to leave it to karma. 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) Monthanus knew she should find a counselor for herself, too. After the last court hearing, Monthanus called the victims advocate assigned to her by the district attorneys office to request a Thai translator. This is in part because the defendant already faces a long prison sentence, and also because, as one prosecutor put it, its impossible to know whats in someones heart. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in June that federal prosecutors declined to pursue hate-crimes charges in about four out of every five cases from 2005 to 2019, citing insufficient evidence.. },false) Yet today I still face people from the Black community who will come into our office on a weekly basis, saying that we only care about our people, that we just take their resources. Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting from Bangkok. That evening, the couple stood at the doorway to her fathers room on the third-floor intensive-care unit. Monthanus and Eric voted for him. People use the "young teenager" label on him as an excuse to obviously protect him and his behavior. It was just the way that he answered the question that made me feel like he didnt really care about our emotions, about what we were asking about., Boudin, who couldnt discuss the particulars of the case, understood where Eric and Monthanus were coming from. Three days later an attacker shoved a 91-year-old man in Oaklands Chinatown to the ground, another video that rocketed around the internet. But let's try to make it work anyway. During the pandemic, she persuaded him to avoid shopping and stick to outdoor walks. Video footage shows the teen running at Ratanapakdee and pushing him over, knocking him to the ground. ET on March 15. In several prime-time interviews, including on Nightline and CNN, Eric went on to suggest that Vichas death was not a random outlier but a result of one race targeting another. 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. Watson can be seen running up to Ratanapakdee and violently shoving him in video from SF CBS Local near the corner of Fortuna and Anza Vista. 3 min read. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said he plans to file murder . He disliked the chilly and wet San Francisco winter and missed his favorite southern Thai dishes and his extended family and friends. Mr. Vichas cremated remains have been placed in two urns. Shortly after Vicha was pronounced dead, Monthanuss phone rang. Everybody I talked to said it was from a Black person, he told me. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. 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. Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of Daly City, made his first court appearance at the Hall of Justice after being taken into custody . In the Bay Area, where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up a quarter of the population, stories like Vichas sparked at least two opposing narratives. 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. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. And these memories, the sense of injustice that still lingered in them, overlapped with other histories still. . A petite 84-year-old with soft white hair, Vicha Ratanapakdee was a lifelong Buddhist, the kind of person who embraced the world with open arms. Lucas Manfredi is a general assignment reporter for Fox News. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), }); 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. Eric said the photo, which was taken from behind and does not show a face, made the person look hateful. 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. (Eric, who worked at two restaurants as a server and manager before the pandemic, was on unemployment.) }); Pa, can you hear me? she repeated. Why you looking at me? and then a crushing sound., Watson pleaded not guilty. According to Sliman Nawabi, the public defender, Antoine feels remorse and shame for what happened and wishes he could sit down with Vichas family so he could explain the struggles he has gone through in life. Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco district attorney, says Mr. Vichas death was heinous. She tried calling it. Mr. Vicha went on to study at Thammasat University in Bangkok, one of the countrys most prestigious institutions. Less than 24 hours later, a spokesman for the Cherokee County sheriff reduced the rampage to the act of a sex addict having a really bad day; then it was revealed that the same spokesman reportedly promoted T-shirts calling the coronavirus an IMPORTED VIRUS FROM CHY-NA. The rage boiled over. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. ga('ads.send', { One hundred days after her fathers death, Monthanus boarded a boat with Eric, their sons and a few friends. 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 . Ratanapakdee's head hit the pavement as he fell. She said: You are not a victim. 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. eventAction: 'render' Watson, the court documents state, had been cited for "reckless driving, speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign" in the hours before the attack. Believe Attack Was Racially Motivated., Amanda Nguyen, a prominent activist, shared Sernoffskys report. }); San Francisco Mayor London Breed, joined by several other elected officials including City Attorney David Chiu, State Senator Scott Wiener, and Supervisors Catherine Stefani and Rafael Mandelman, led the crowd in marching and chanting slogans. But she and Eric feared that the trauma might manifest years, or decades, later. First published on February 8, 2021 / 3:17 PM. Anyone can read what you share. This arrest data includes all information on current and previous arrests for Antoine Watson A Feb. 9 report by Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate foundover 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and the District of Columbiabetween March 19, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020, with 126 accounts (7.3% of total incidents)of anti-Asian hate involving Americans over 60 years old. ga('ads.send', { By then, Boudin had told reporters that there was no evidence from the police suggesting that Vichas death was motivated by racial animus. She had even persuaded him to leave his wallet at home, at least for another few weeks, when he was scheduled for his second shot of the coronavirus vaccine. Two hours later, Antoine finally entered the room. The stories filled Monthanus with questions. The San Francisco District Attorney has filed murder charges and elder abuse causing death charges against the 19-year-old suspect in the case, Antoine Watson, calling the crime a "brutal . His brothers and sisters are there, Ms. Monthanus said. Hes 19 years old to be in jail. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ His public defender, Sliman Nawabi, challenged the murder charge, arguing that Watson did not intend to kill Vicha. Why, since her fathers death, did it feel as if there were more cases every day? 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. A strange voice picked up. pg.acq.push(function() { Nawabi described the incident as an impulsive unmotivated assault that resulted from the mental-health breakdown of a teenager. . He was also on a waiting list to become a registered gun owner. In the weeks since it happened, Mr. Vichas death has become a symbol for the vulnerability that many in the Asian-American community feel in this moment. 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. In March, Jeung says, Stop AAPI Hate received roughly 2,800 reports, about the same number he received in all of 2020. During the pandemic, Vicha usually left the house before 8 a.m. and made it back before his grandsons started their Zoom classes. In a New York Times article, Boudin says Antoine Watson was having "some sort of temper tantrum," a term more often used to describe toddlers, ABC7 reported. Ratanapakdee died after sustaining severe injuries. Monthanus wanted to speak to the judge, too. They asked the state attorney generals office to help them track what they believed to be a growing number of episodes. Court documents give the victims name as Gilbert Diaz, and Carl Chan, a community leader and president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said the victim was Latino. "You will be held accountable by both the police and the District Attorney. All rights reserved. On the morning of Jan. 28, when Monthanus and the children were still asleep, he prepared to head out.