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Grandpa VIcha's killing sparked a nationwide Stop Asian Hate movement.
AP
The woke San Francisco judge who set a beloved grandfather’s killer free has cut other criminals a break — as his heartbroken daughter blasted the justice as “biased.”
The 2021 killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee, fondly known as “Grandpa Vicha,” galvanized the nationwide Stop Asian Hate movement during the COVID pandemic after a disturbing rise in violent crimes targeting Asian Americans.
Antoine Watson, 25, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shocking, caught-on-camera attack in January.
However, during his sentencing on Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax sparked fury when she ordered he be released on probation.
Colfax technically sentenced Watson to eight years behind bars but gave him credit for five years he has already served — and suspended the remainder of his sentence if he adhered to the terms of his probation.
The judge said at the sentencing that imprisonment would have a “poor impact” on Watson.
“She said Mr. Watson has trouble in his life because he’s from a broken family, parents fighting … that doesn’t mean you can kill other people,” Vicha’s daughter, Monthanus Ratanapakdee, told the California Post.
Colfax — a former public defender who has boasted about her “inclusive” courtroom featuring a nameplate with her she/her pronouns — has previously come under fire for the lenient treatment of other accused criminals.
Last year, Colfax ordered the release of a Tesla driver charged in a multi-vehicle smash-up that killed 27-year-old Mikhael Romanenko, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Jia Lin Zheng’s release while he awaits trial was granted despite the heartbreaking pleas from the victim’s mom.
“I am in pain, I am in agony, and I hope this court will keep the defendant in custody based on his disregard for public safety and the vicious actions that took place toward my son,” Julia Romanenko begged from the courtroom podium.
The 67-year-old motorist had also racked up several traffic citations in his home state of Hawaii, including five speeding infractions and one for allegedly running a red light, the Chronicle reported.
Zheng has argued that his Tesla malfunctioned in the incident.
When it comes to Watson, Ratanapakdee argued the sentence reflects “a pattern of prior leniency.”
She said that her dad’s killer, who had a criminal record as a juvenile, had already been given second chances.
Ratanapakdee felt that Colfax was “biased” against the prosecution.
“I’ve been there almost two months in the trial, and I see how she was taking sides with the defense. That is my opinion,” she said.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told The Post that Colfax’s decision was “troubling.”
“The judge was limited in some regard by the penal code that left his exposure at nine years, which is what we asked for,” Jenkins said. “But seemed to rely on this theory that because of his age at the time of the crime, he did not deserve more custody.
“While I can appreciate consideration of someone’s age and their youth, he took a man’s life — he took an innocent man’s life,” Jenkins added,
“And the fact that a judge believes that his time in the county jail was sufficient and he served probation is troubling to me. I don’t think it teaches him the magnitude of what he did.”
Watson, who is now 25, was 19-years-old when he charged at 84-year-old Ratanapakdee and violently shoved him to the ground, causing him to hit his head and die two days later in the hospital.
The brutal assault was caught on surveillance video that went viral, sparking a national outcry.
Watson’s defense attorney argued he had a mental breakdown on the day of Ratanapakdee’s killing after a family argument.
He had PTSD after experiencing abuse and was not aware of Ratanapakdee’s age or race when he violently assaulted him, attorneys argued.
A jury rejected murder charges and convicted Watson of involuntary manslaughter and felony assault in January.
“Antoine Watson was a 19-year-old in distress who made a terrible, impulsive decision with devastating consequences,” said Deputy Public Defender Anita Nabha in a statement.
“The jury correctly found that he had no intent to kill and no knowledge of Mr. Ratanapakdee’s race or age at the time.”
Frank Noto, founder of the public safety group Stop Crime SF, noted that Colfax was required to take into account certain mitigating factors in delivering the controversial sentence — such as good behavior in jail and Watson’s age at the time of the crime.
“The problem goes way deeper than the judges,” Noto said. “We have no reason to fault Colfax in this particular case. This is the result of the laws we have.”
Still, Noto worried about the message it sends.
“The public defender claimed that probation would result in a much better person because he gets counseling and therapy. But you have to wonder if that’s going to happen, and what’s to prevent him for doing this again,” he told The Post.
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