San Francisco, January 16, 2026 – A San Francisco jury convicted Antoine Watson of involuntary manslaughter Thursday in the 2021 death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, delivering a verdict that disappointed the victim’s family and members of the Asian American community who viewed the violent attack as a hate crime.
The 12-person jury deliberated for approximately eight hours before finding Watson guilty of involuntary manslaughter and assault with force likely to produce great bodily harm. However, jurors acquitted him of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and elder abuse charges that prosecutors had pursued.
The case drew national attention as a symbol of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, though prosecutors never filed hate crime charges, citing insufficient evidence of racial bias.
The Attack
On the morning of Jan. 28, 2021, Ratanapakdee left his daughter’s apartment in San Francisco’s Anza Vista neighborhood for his regular morning walk. Surveillance footage captured Watson, then 19, running across the street at approximately 12 mph before violently shoving the elderly man to the ground.
Ratanapakdee’s head struck the pavement. He never regained consciousness and died two days later from a brain hemorrhage.
Video evidence showed Watson returning to retrieve his cellphone from a car, then walking back to photograph Ratanapakdee’s unconscious body before leaving the scene. A neighbor testified to hearing Watson yell an expletive at the victim moments before the attack.
The Trial
Watson, now 24, testified during the trial that he was in a state of confusion and anger following a family argument and car crash earlier that day. He claimed he didn’t know Ratanapakdee was Asian or elderly at the time of the unprovoked assault.
Defense attorneys argued the attack was an impulsive act resulting from emotional distress, not a premeditated murder.
Prosecutors presented expert testimony about the force of the collision and the surveillance footage showing Watson’s actions before and after the assault. They sought to prove Watson acted with malice aforethought, the legal standard required for murder convictions.
The jury of five women and seven men, including three Asians, one African American, four Whites and four Latinos, ultimately sided with the defense’s characterization of the crime.
Sentencing Ahead
While Watson was acquitted of the most serious charges, jurors found two sentence enhancements to be true: that he rendered Ratanapakdee comatose and that the victim was over 70 years old. These findings could add a consecutive five-year prison term.
In California, involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of four years, plus probation. Watson could face an additional four years for the assault conviction. The jury will reconvene Jan. 26 to hear arguments on aggravating factors, including that Ratanapakdee was “particularly vulnerable,” which could add another year to the sentence.
Watson has already spent five years in custody awaiting trial. Legal analysts suggest he may be released relatively soon, depending on the final sentence imposed.
Community Response
The verdict sparked outcry from Ratanapakdee’s family and Asian American advocacy groups who had rallied around the case during a period of heightened anti-Asian violence nationwide.
Family members had long believed the attack was racially motivated, but San Francisco prosecutors said they lacked the specific evidence required to prove hate crime charges, such as racial slurs during the assault.
The case became emblematic of the Stop Asian Hate movement, with community members organizing vigils and protests calling for justice. Many expressed frustration that Watson was not convicted of murder or elder abuse.
The court will determine Watson’s final sentence following the aggravating factors hearing later this month.
