Vicha Ratanapakdee’s family protested outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice on Friday as the criminal case against the man accused of brutally killing the 84-year-old continues to be delayed.

It has been almost two and a half years since a man, Ratanapakdee, affectionately known as “Grandpa Vicha”, was violently filmed on camera.

For Monthanus Ratanapakdee, Vicha’s daughter, waiting for justice was difficult.

“I haven’t had time to grieve with my family since the day my father was killed,” she said. “I must stand up to fight for justice for my father. I have to work for the community.”

Grandpa Vicha’s attack became a flashpoint during the pandemic. It was one of several attacks on the Bay Area AAPI community.

Monthanus Ratanapakdee said it was painful to see delay after delay in the trial of Antoine Watson, the man blamed for Vicha’s death.

A court hearing on the case on Friday was unexpectedly canceled.

Monthanus said San Francisco courts need reform and she believes defense attorneys are trying to delay cases for as long as possible.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the following statement on Friday:

“We were ready to take this case to court, but the speed at which this case, like many others, moves through the criminal justice system is almost entirely controlled by the defense.”

Sergio Quintana has more in the video above.

The post Household, supporters pissed off with delays in case of slain San Francisco man Vicha Ratanapakdee – NBC Bay Space appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Forty-three years after a Long Island girl was killed while visiting her long lost sister in San Francisco, cops say they’ve finally arrested the man who strangled the teen and left her body in a park.

Mark Stanley Personette, 76, of Conifer, Colo., was arrested Thursday and charged with homicide in the death of 15-year-old Marissa Rolf Harvey, whose body was found in Sutro Heights Park on March 28, 1978. Authorities are now eyeing him as a suspect in other unsolved homicides.

This image provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows the Jefferson County, Colo., Sheriff’s Department booking photo of Mark Stanley Personette. On Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, Personette was arrested in Colorado on suspicion of killing a teenage girl in San Francisco more than four decades earlier and detectives who cracked the case say he may be a suspect in other unsolved homicides. (AP)

The investigation had remained dormant for decades until October 2020, when the San Francisco Police Department’s cold-case unit reexamined the killing. The department said it had relied on “advanced investigative methods,” without going into detail.

San Francisco law enforcement shared few details about Personette, who lived 1,200 miles from The City by the Bay. Online records show he’s also charged with being a fugitive from justice.

“For more than four decades, Marissa Harvey’s family members have been relentless advocates to bring her killer to justice,” said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, “We hope this development in the case begins to bring a measure of healing and closure they’ ve been too long denied.”

The victim’s mother, Marguerite Schultz, 86, declined to comment on the breakthrough. She said detectives told her to stay silent about the case because the investigation is still active.

Mark Stanley Personette, 76, of Conifer, Colorado, was arrested Thursday and charged with homicide in the death of 15-year-old Marissa Rolf Harvey (pictured), whose body was found in Sutro Heights park on March 28, 1978.

Months before her death on the West Coast trip, Marissa and her family learned that the adopted girl had a biological sister in California.

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According to reports, Marissa begged her parents in Port Washington, LI to go. They finally relented in March to let the girl fly alone to San Francisco during her Easter break for a weekend visit.

Among the items on Marissa’s to-do list was horseback riding at the Golden Gate Park Stables, where her sister’s friend dropped her off, unaware that the stables were closed.

When Marissa failed to return, her sister reported her missing. A day later, just before sunset, a man saw a pair of small feet sticking out of a park bush.

This Nov. 5, 1979, image provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows the Hopewell Township, NJ, Police Department booking photos of Mark Stanley Personette. On Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, Personette was arrested in Colorado on suspicion of killing a teenage girl in San Francisco more than four decades earlier and detectives who cracked the case say he may be a suspect in other unsolved homicides. (AP)

Authorities determined Marissa had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Investigators quickly hit a dead end — until recently. The police chief thanked forensic scientists and “other unsung heroes” for helping crack the case.

Cops shared information about Personette with other departments to determine if he’s linked to other cold-case assaults and murders.

Police released several booking photos of Personette taken over decades, showing that he had been arrested multiple times, including in New Jersey.

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OAKLAND (CBS SF) — The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department held a procession Friday afternoon to honor the memory of the deputy recruit who was killed in a freeway shootout in Oakland earlier this month.

Chopper 5 flew overhead while the body of recruit David Nguyen was being transported from the Alameda County Coroner’s Office to a funeral home in Colma.

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The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office also released information about the procession on its Twitter account, noting that Nguyen’s family was present.

Today our command staff honored Sheriff Recruit David Nguyen and supported his family as he was transported to a Colma morgue by our Coroner’s Bureau in the city of Oakland. Services for Recruit Nguyen will be held on Monday, January 24, 2022. Further information follows. pic.twitter.com/zWwDYsBUeu

— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) January 14, 2022

Authorities identified Nguyen on the highway the day after the deadly shooting. The fatal incident, which claimed Nguyen’s life, occurred late afternoon on January 4 on the westbound approach to the Bay Bridge.

Nguyen was escorted to his home in San Francisco after a day of training with the 172nd Academy class. He was driving his car — a black Prius — on the westbound I-580 connecting ramp to westbound I-80 in Oakland around 4:30 p.m. when he was shot by an unknown assailant.

The car veered to the left and crashed into a guardrail. First responders saw that Nguyen, the driver and only occupant of the vehicle, had been shot.

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Nguyen was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland where he succumbed to his injuries, the CHP said.

Although he was not initially identified, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Tuesday night that the man killed was a young academy recruit.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Charity Foundation opened an account with the Police Credit Union in Nguyen’s honor. All donations go to his family to help at this critical time of need. Donations can be made in person at a local Police Credit Union branch or by mail using the following account information:

The Police Credit Union
Alameda County Sheriff’s Charitable Foundation
In memory of David Nguyen
2550 Irving St
San Francisco, CA 94122

The sheriff’s office said services for Nguyen will be held on Monday, January 24.

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The Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Association has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Nguyen’s death.

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CAMPBELL (KPIX) – Family and friends of a Campbell man who was shot dead outside his own house nearly two weeks ago said Friday that it makes no sense why he would have been targeted.

Greg Cirimele, 42, was the “life of the party” who, according to his parents, had “hundreds of friends,” best friend and neighbor.

“He was that kid who just – you couldn’t like him, he was full of life, he was full of energy,” said Cirimele’s mother, Kim Cirimele.

At 10:45 am on November 2, Campbell Police responded to a shooting on West Sunnyoaks Avenue. A witness told 911 dispatchers that he saw a blue Saturn in the middle of the street and that Cirimele walked up to the driver and started hitting him, according to Mercury News. The man behind the wheel pulled out a gun and began firing multiple shots at Cirimele, hitting him twice in the chest, the newspaper reported.

The witness followed the Saturn and gave the dispatcher the license plate. The Mercury News reported that within minutes police arrested 18-year-old Nickolas Amman from a house a mile away.

“It could have been any of us in the neighborhood and I think that’s the scariest thing about it being just so random,” said Cirimele’s neighbor Morgan Musto.

KPIX has contacted Campbell police but has not yet received a response.

Shortly after the fatal shooting, a candlelight vigil was held, which attracted a large crowd to remember the Silicon Valley manager. Ten days after he was murdered, candles continued to burn for Cirimele, and a heart was drawn on the street where he collapsed.

“I just want to know what happened. I mean, it was very unusual for Greg to get into any kind of argument, ”said Cirimele’s best friend James Boucher.

The two of them, he said, spent every day doing sports, playing softball, and going on trips. Boucher said he met Cirimele playing baseball at Menlo College two decades ago and the two became inseparable.

Boucher said it was because of Cirimele that he got a job years ago and that Cirimele was the reason for so many friendships he made over the years.

“It seems like he made very good friends everywhere he went,” said Boucher. “That’s why it’s all so shocking and somehow incomprehensible how this could happen.”

Musto had the same thing to say about Cirimele.

“He actually made you feel like he cared about what you had to say,” said Musto.

Most devastating for those who know the former baseball star is that he leaves behind two young daughters and a wife.

“Loves her to death, I mean he’s a real girl dad and you miss him so much,” said his dad, Gary Cirimele.

Gary and Kim had just returned from a trip to Hawaii with their son and granddaughters.

“He was just a good, good person,” said Kim.

Cirimele’s funeral is scheduled just before Thanksgiving. His wife told KPIX that Cirimele was her “best friend” and that they were all “shocked and devastated”.

“I check this phone every morning, there are no text messages,” said Gary. “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

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