El Sobrante man denies account of his role in 2008 triple-shooting

Not a word mentioned that Edwin Ramos is an illegal however those of us who have been here for years know of this tragedy very well.
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Bay City News Service
Posted: 04/12/2012 06:22:11 AM PDT
Updated: 04/12/2012 06:22:38 AM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man accused of killing a father and two sons in San Francisco in the summer of 2008 forcefully denied Wednesday the lone survivor's account of the shootings.

Edwin Ramos, 25, of El Sobrante, is charged with murdering Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, on June 22, 2008, at Congdon and Maynard streets in the city's Excelsior District.

The cross-examination of Ramos ended Wednesday after he began testifying on Monday. His defense attorney Marla Zamora will have the opportunity for re-direct testimony on Thursday.

Prosecutors allege that Ramos fatally shot the Bolognas after mistaking them for rival gang members. Ramos was an MS-13 gang member but said he quit the gang in 2006.

Andrew Bologna, a third son who was 18 at the time of the shootings, was also in his family's Honda Civic and testified earlier in the trial that Ramos was the shooter and was the only person in the car that the shots were fired from.

Ramos has admitted that he was driving the Chrysler 300 involved in the shooting, but repeatedly said in his testimony that his friend Wilfredo "Flaco" Reyes was the shooter. Reyes, a member of the MS-13 clique "Pasadena Locos Surenos," remains at large.

Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Harry Dorfman, Ramos on Wednesday denied several aspects of Andrew Bologna's account of the shooting.

Bologna testified that the driver's side window of Ramos' car was up until just before the shooting, and that Ramos gave Anthony Bologna a mean look before pulling out a gun and opening fire.

However, Ramos on Wednesday insisted that his window was down the whole time, and that he did not give the Bolognas a mean look.

He rebuked Dorfman, who asked, "Your story is that Mr. Reyes stuck a gun in front of you and began shooting?"

Ramos replied, "You keep saying 'your story,' but that's what happened."

Ramos said he did not know Reyes was going to fire the shots and was shocked and angry afterward.

"It's something you can never be prepared for," he said. "It was a bad situation all the way around."

Ramos also recounted the moments before the shooting, saying he had picked up Reyes in San Francisco to go to Oakland to visit another MS-13 gang member, Marvin Medina, who had been shot earlier in the day and was hospitalized.

He said after picking Reyes up, he missed a turn onto a street that led to the highway, and was lost in the Excelsior neighborhood prior to encountering the Bolognas.

Dorfman has alleged that the shooting of the Bolognas was in retaliation for Medina's shooting.

Earlier on Wednesday, he brought up a similar shooting of two innocent victims by an MS-13 member, Erick "Spooky" Lopez, in the Excelsior District early on March 29, 2008.

Those murders were allegedly in retaliation for the shooting of another MS-13 member hours earlier.

Ramos was with Lopez when Lopez was arrested a day later on suspicion of the murders.

Lopez was convicted in federal court for the murders and was sentenced to life in prison last December. He was one of 34 MS-13 members and associates who were charged in grand jury indictments in 2008 and 2009.

El Sobrante man denies account of his role in 2008 triple-shooting - San Jose Mercury News

Some background and one of numerous stories we have:
http://www.alipac.us/f12/family-sues...policy-172169/

by Bay City News

April 12, 2012 5:47 PM


Juror Asks Edwin Ramos About Religious Beliefs

http://sfappeal.com/news/images/edwin-ramos.jpg


A man accused of killing a father and his two sons in San Francisco's Excelsior District in 2008 Thursday wrapped up his testimony on his own behalf in the murder trial.

Edwin Ramos, 25, of El Sobrante, is charged with fatally shooting Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, on June 22, 2008, at Congdon and Maynard streets.

Ramos began testifying on Monday under questioning from his attorney Marla Zamora, and after cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Harry Dorfman on Tuesday and Wednesday, he finished his testimony by answering questions from the jury today.

Judge Charles Haines has allowed jurors to ask written questions of witnesses in the trial, and several jurors had questions for Ramos about the day of the shooting, as well as other parts of his earlier testimony.

Ramos has admitted that he was driving his Chrysler 300 that the shots were fired out of, but said that his friend Wilfredo "Flaco" Reyes was the shooter. Reyes remains at large.

Prosecutors allege that Ramos fatally shot the Bolognas after mistaking them for rival gang members. Ramos was an MS-13 gang member but said he quit the gang in 2006, while Reyes was allegedly a leader of the gang's "Pasadena Locos Surenos" clique.

In a response to a question from one of the jurors, Ramos said today that while he remembers hearing the shots fired from his car, he did not remember seeing the gun.

"Everything happened so fast," he said. "All I really remember is the boom and the loud noise."

Another juror wrote a question asking Ramos if he was a religious man.

"Yes and no," he said.

"I believe in God ... and try to help people as much as I can," he said. "But on the other hand, I was also selling drugs."

Ramos said he sold cocaine to help financially support his family after his daughter was born in 2007.

This afternoon, Haines also told the jury the tentative schedule for the rest of the trial.
The judge said both the prosecution and defense are expected to finish presenting their cases by next Thursday, and the jury will have the following week off while the judge and attorneys discuss jury instructions and the admissibility of various pieces of evidence in the case.

Closing arguments are expected to begin as soon as May 1, he said.

The trial began back in January with jury selection and has included testimony from Andrew Bologna, who was with his father and brothers when they were shot as they drove home from a family outing in Fairfield.

Andrew, who escaped injury in the shooting, testified that Ramos was the gunman and the only person in the Chrysler.

Danielle Bologna, the wife and mother of the victims, has been in court for most of the trial, which is being held in a courtroom outfitted with a metal detector and bulletproof glass.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

Juror Asks Edwin Ramos About Religious Beliefs: News: SFAppeal