San Francisco Superior Court Judge Eric Fleming indicated in court today that he intends to sentence convicted defendant Keonte Gathron to two life terms and 31 years in prison for a January 2019 crime spree that included the murder of Yik Oi Huang, kidnapping, carjacking, assault on a peace officer, burglary, and robbery. The intended sentence brings the family and friends of Grandma Huang and other victims closer to healing and closure. It brings the defendant closer to facing the consequences of the actions for which he was found guilty by a San Francisco jury earlier this month.
Gathron, now age 25, represented himself today and at his nearly month-long trial on 32 criminal charges, including murder, nine robbery counts, four child endangerment counts, three kidnapping counts, and three carjacking counts. Throughout the trial, he maintained his innocence and blamed the criminal charges and the district attorney’s case on evidence manufactured by police department artificial intelligence.
The defendant’s actions were “unimaginably cruel … and left the family devastated.”
Jeremy Lu, Huang’s Grandson, during testimony
In all, the defendant’s victims ranged from ages 14 to 88, many of whom were immigrants from China, limited in English language proficiency, or of an extremely young or old age, leaving them especially vulnerable. Today’s proceedings focused primarily on Grandma Huang’s murder. It provided her daughters and grandchildren their first opportunity to share with the court and the public her suffering from the injuries and how the crimes fractured the family by depriving them of her love and presence. In the words of her grandson Jeremy, the family came “not for retribution but for recognition.” He explained that the day of the attack in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 8, 2019, when Huang was on her regular neighborhood walk, “was a day our family will never forget.” The defendant’s actions were “unimaginably cruel … and left the family devastated.”
Often through an interpreter, Huang’s daughters spoke of her as “the emotional center of our family” and as someone who “loved life” and “brought joy to all around her.” Huang was born in southern China in 1930 and immigrated to the United States in 1986, sacrificing to provide a better future for her children and grandchildren. She worked long hours as a dishwasher and garment worker in Chinatown, loved tai chi, and was highly regarded as a leader and provider in community groups. One daughter stated that she went the extra mile for her children and an additional 10 miles for everyone else. Her proudest moment was passing the naturalization test, which would enable her, as a United States citizen, to bring her family back together in this country.
The impact of the attack on Huang and her subsequent death as a result of the injuries was felt throughout the Asian American community. Over 60 community members attended the sentencing hearing and plan to attend the upcoming trial in the murder of another Asian elder, “Grandpa” Vicha Ratanapakdee. These crimes and others ignited a local fervor that spread nationwide for more effective law enforcement and victim support in crimes targeting Asian Americans, especially seniors.
Missing report prompts call for delay in sentencing
Court observers will return to the Hall of Justice on Wednesday, Dec. 3, for the final sentencing hearing in the Gathron case. Gathron sought to delay today’s sentencing hearing because he did not receive the trial transcript upon which to base an appeal of the conviction. Judge Fleming denied his request but discovered that neither Gathron nor his investigator had received the sentencing report to which the defendant was entitled. Fleming went to great lengths to find out what occurred — even getting off the bench to call the probation department responsible for providing the report — before ruling that Gathron’s response could be provided next week. However, since Fleming already had the sentencing report and guidelines, he proceeded with sentencing, pending any final comment from the defendant next week.
As it stands now, Gathron’s sentence on the murder conviction is a term of life without the possibility of parole. He will serve that sentence after completing a life sentence for kidnapping and robbery, which could terminate in a parole determination after serving seven years. But first, he has sentences of 31 additional years in prison for the remainder of his crimes. His sentences for other crimes, amounting to dozens of additional years, were stayed by the imposition of the primary sentences.
It has been over 2,500 days since the attack on Grandma Huang and other victims. It ended her life. Should he be unsuccessful in his expected appeal, the defendant will be imprisoned until the end of his.