A man convicted in the 2021 death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco won’t be going back to jail, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Antoine Watson had already been found not guilty of murder earlier this year, but guilty of involuntary manslaughter. On Thursday, the judge gave him an eight-year sentence—but suspended all of it. Because of the time he’s already served, he won’t spend any additional time behind bars.
FILE – Monthanus Ratanapakdee holds a photo of her father, Vicha Ratanapakdee, on Jan. 26, 2022, in front of the San Francisco apartment building where he was attacked in 2021; he later died of his injuries. A San Francisco judge ruled Friday that the man accused of killing the 84-year-old Thai grandfather will stand trial. The assault on Ratanapakdee galvanized Asian Americans and helped spur a successful recall of the city’s liberal prosecutor. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)
Ratanapakdee’s family called the outcome deeply disappointing. In a statement, they said, “An 84-year-old man was killed in a cruel, unprovoked attack, and our family will live with this loss every day. This is not about revenge-it is about accountability. When consequences do not match the harm, it sends the wrong message about protecting our seniors and public safety. We are concerned about what this means for other families.”
In 2021, Watson pushed Ratanapakdee—known as “Grandpa Vicha”—to the ground, causing his death.
The case gained national attention and became part of the broader conversation that fueled the Stop Asian Hate movement, as the family believed the attack was racially motivated.
Prosecutors, however, did not file hate crime charges, and Watson said he didn’t know the victim’s race. His defense argued that while he intentionally pushed Ratanapakdee, he did not mean to kill him.
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