Life in prison for man convicted of killing elderly San Francisco woman, anti-Asian attacks

A San Francisco man who was convicted of murdering of an 88-year-old woman during a crime spree that primarily targeted Asian Americans will spend the rest of his life in prison, prosecutors said.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office announced that a judge will sentence 25-year-old Keonte Gathron to a term of two life sentences, including one without the possibility of parole. Gathron was also sentenced to 31 years to be served consecutively in state prison.

“Mr. Gathron is now being held accountable for his heinous crimes that targeted vulnerable victims and will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole,” Jenkins said in a statement Tuesday.

A jury convicted Gathron on Nov. 4 of murder, eight counts of robbery, kidnapping for robbery, two counts of carjacking, two counts of burglary, elder abuse and child endangerment in connection with a crime spree that took place in early 2019. The jury also found that Gathron personally used a firearm in three of the incidents.

Prosecutors said Gathron robbed seven people over the span of 13 days, with six of the victims being Asian. Three victims were elderly, while three were youths on the way to or from school.

One of the victims, 88-year-old Yik Oi Huang, was brutally attacked by Gathron at a park in the city’s Visitacion Valley neighborhood during the crime spree. Huang died from her injuries a year later.

“While nothing can bring Grandma Huang back to her family, today’s sentence hopefully leaves the victims and their families with a sense that justice was done for all that they have endured,” Jenkins added.

Assistant District Attorney Nathan Quigley said, “I hope the sentence to be imposed at least gives each of the people victimized by this man, as well as the family of Ms. Huang, a sense of closure and some measure of justice for the harm he has caused.”

Prosecutors said Gathron’s sentence is expected to be finalized and formally imposed on Dec. 3.