Bay Area Man Who Targeted Asian Children And Seniors In Violent Attacks Convicted: Prosecutors

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A San Francisco man who went on a violent crime spree targeting Asian children and seniors in 2019 has been convicted of several crimes, including murder, prosecutors said.

A jury convicted Keonte Gathron, 25, of first-degree murder during the commission of a robbery and burglary, eight counts of robbery, two counts of carjacking, two counts of burglary, one count of and one count of kidnapping for robbery, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. He was also found guilty of elder abuse and child endangerment, prosecutors said.

The case stems from a series of violent crimes Gathron was accused of committing over 13 days in January 2019.

During this time, he violently robbed seven people, six of whom were Asian and spoke little English. Three of those were children on their way to school and three others were elderly people, prosecutors said.

"Each victim was selected because they were alone, distracted and small," prosecutors said. "In that way, Mr. Gathron’s actions had outsize impact on our whole City."

Following his arrest, Gathron was charged with attempted murder, but it was upgraded to murder after one victim, an 88-year-old grandmother, died nearly a year after being brutally attacked by Gathron, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“During this trial, each of the surviving victims and witnesses not only had to directly face their assailant who was representing himself – but did so through the use of interpreters, where so much can be lost in translation," San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Nathan Quigley said in a statement Tuesday. "It was inspiring to see them each stand up for themselves and each other - to ensure that this man who has already taken so much from so many members of our community will never harm anyone again.”

Gathron will be sentenced on Nov. 25, prosecutors said.