"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old man who was killed in San Francisco's De Anza neighborhood in 2021. Antoine Watson who was 19 years old at the time, is guilty of involuntary manslaughter and guilty of force likely to produce great bodily harm, but not guilty of murder in the first or second degree. Vicha Ratanapakdee's daughter told the I-Team's Dan Noyes that she's "disappointed and painful.""
"That morning was not going well for Antoine Watson, 19 years old at the time. Police cited him for reckless driving and speeding, then his car broke down - where Grandpa Vicha was out for his morning walk. Judge Linda Colfax would not let us record Antoine Watson's testimony or show his face, but he described being upset about his car breaking down, that his girlfriend was judging him, so he got out of the car because "I didn't want to cry in front of her." He started screaming, punched another car, then "I remember someone staring at me. I got to the man and just pushed him. I felt he was judging me, too.""
"The defense replayed the surveillance video again and again; 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee fell to the ground, striking his head, and died in the hospital two days later. His daughter was there in court listening to Watson; she broke down in tears several times. "I think this guy is no remorse," Monthanus Ratanapakdae told the I-Team's Dan Noyes. "He saw my dad on the ground"
A jury returned a verdict in the 2021 death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco's De Anza/Anza Vista neighborhood. Antoine Watson, 19 at the time, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and of using force likely to produce great bodily harm, and was acquitted of first- and second-degree murder. Watson testified he was upset after traffic citations and a car breakdown, felt judged by his girlfriend, and pushed a man after feeling judged. Surveillance video shows Ratanapakdae falling and striking his head; he died in hospital two days later. The victim's daughter reacted emotionally in court, expressing pain and disappointment.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]