Antoine Watson Sentenced in 'Grandpa Vicha' Killing

Antoine Watson will learn his fate Thursday when a San Francisco judge sentences him for the 2021 killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee, the 84-year-old Thai grandfather whose death became a flashpoint in conversations about anti-Asian violence in the city.

Watson was convicted in January of involuntary manslaughter and assault in connection with the January 2021 attack, in which he shoved Ratanapakdee to the ground during a morning walk in the Anza Vista neighborhood. The elderly man died two days later. Watson was acquitted of murder. He faces up to eight years in prison under the manslaughter conviction.

The case drew international attention and galvanized San Francisco’s Asian American community, which had already been grappling with a surge in street attacks targeting elderly residents. Ratanapakdee, known widely as “Grandpa Vicha” after his family went public with footage of the assault, became a symbol of that fear and grief. His family has been vocal throughout the legal proceedings, and Thursday’s sentencing will close the criminal chapter of a case that took more than five years to reach this point.

Elsewhere, European Union regulators are turning up pressure on Snapchat, formally opening an investigation into the platform’s age-verification practices. Regulators contend that Snapchat’s systems frequently misclassify teenagers as adults, potentially exposing minors to inappropriate content steered by the platform’s recommendation algorithm. The probe is the latest sign that tech companies face significantly stricter scrutiny in Europe than in the United States, where federal online child safety legislation has stalled repeatedly in Congress.

On a lighter note, H Mart opened the doors of its new mega-store in Dublin this morning at 10 a.m. The Korean grocery chain has grown to roughly 100 locations nationwide and has cultivated a devoted following in the Bay Area. The Dublin store is expected to draw shoppers from across the East Bay who have long made the trek to existing locations in San Jose and the Richmond District.

In Oakland, the In-N-Out location on Hegenberger Road, which spent years struggling with a reputation for criminal activity in and around the property, has changed hands. A Santa Rosa-based restaurant group purchased the site. The group operates a diverse portfolio that includes Bollywood Bar, Mountain Mike’s Pizza franchises, and a Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy location. Whether the ownership change translates into a safer, more stable operation at a location that sits near the Oakland Coliseum corridor will be worth watching.

The International Olympic Committee has formally banned transgender women from competing in the Olympic Games. The IOC’s decision comes despite the absence of any confirmed case of a transgender woman competing at the Olympic level. Critics of the ban argue it is discriminatory policy built on hypothetical concerns rather than documented competitive realities. Supporters contend the move protects competitive fairness. The ruling adds the Olympics to a growing list of international sporting bodies that have moved to restrict or prohibit transgender female participation.

And if you spent any time on social media this week watching a heartwarming video of a scraggly pack of dogs apparently navigating their way home together through China, CNN reports the original footage is real but the narrative built around it is not. The dogs were not on some epic journey. The story circulating online was fabricated. The dogs, apparently, were just being dogs.

Finally, the Warriors punched their ticket to the play-in tournament Wednesday night with a win over the Brooklyn Nets. Golden State has been grinding through an uneven season, and securing a play-in spot does not guarantee much, but it keeps the postseason alive for a franchise that has seen its championship window debated and eulogized repeatedly over the past two years. Spring basketball begins in earnest now, and the Dubs will need to be considerably sharper than their regular season form to advance past the play-in round.