Thread: Agencies Play Blame Game in SF Illegal's Murder Case

Agencies Play Blame Game in San Francisco Illegal's Murder Case
Tuesday, July 22, 2008


Edwin Ramos

Local and federal authorities in San Francisco are pointing the figure at each other over who is to blame for the March release of an illegal immigrant now charged with triple murder.

Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department are blaming each other for the release of Edwin Ramos, 21, the Salvadoran national charged with the murders last month of Anthony Bologna and his two sons as they were returning home from a picnic.

The case prompted public outcry after it emerged that when Ramos was 17, because of the city's sanctuary policy, local officials did not contact the feds to determine his immigration status when he was convicted on two gang-related felonies. He also was arrested with an acquaintance earlier this year on a gun charge.

"When he was arrested in March, we notified ICE of his arrest and they did not put a detainer on him," San Francisco Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Eileen Hirst told FOXNews.com.

ICE officials in Los Angeles told FOX affiliate KTVU-TV that Ramos was released by mistake, and that a log shows that local officials released him before they could issue a detainer.

"They're saying this because they're feeling some heat," San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey told KTVU-TV. "For example, in the past 18 months I've turned over 1,100 people to ICE, so it's not like we have a system that doesn't work."

Hirst said the document ICE officials cited in the Ramos case was not a valid detainer, but an inquiry over prisoner reimbursement made after ICE was notified of Ramos' arrest.

Had a detainer been placed on Ramos after the gun charge was dropped, he would have been held by authorities for ICE agents for 24 hours.

"Those charges were dropped, and without a detainer, we cannot hold someone in custody," Hirst said.

ICE officials did not immediately return FOXNews.com's request for comment.

Robert Amparan, Ramos' lawyer, did not return a call for comment, but he said Monday that his client was in the country legally.

"I can tell you that he did not enter the country illegally. I can tell you that he married a U.S. citizen and was in the process of getting his citizenship," Amparan told KTVU-TV. "Because of the way my client, Mr. Ramos, is being portrayed in the media, his rights are being violated. False information is being placed out there."

The case has caused an uproar in San Francisco, a city that just recently learned its juvenile probation department was deporting offenders themselves rather than notifying federal officials, because of its 1989 "City of Refuge" sanctuary policy. Those deportations stopped in May after the U.S. Justice Department contacted the city.

"The entire policy involving what happens with illegal immigrants when they have, in fact, been convicted of felonies, this city needs to reexamine that policy frankly, without reference to this particular incident," former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown told FOX News on Tuesday. "Before this occurred, Mayor [Gavin] Newsom had already said, ‘I will do my best to change the policy to most appropriately reflect the protections and the safety of the citizens of this city.’"

But Bologna's widow wants the city to do more than that.

"It should have been resolved at the beginning, when this guy had done more than one crime in the city," she told FOX News on Monday. "I want justice. I want the people to see. If my family wasn’t safe, what makes you think yours will be?"

Ramos is expected in court Wednesday to enter a plea on the murder charges.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,389147,00.html

they can blame all they want to . Four people didn't care , four people. The Idiot Mayor Newson , The Chief of Police , The very lame head of the Parole Commission and of course my fav and yours the D.A who is out to lunch and has a "Full Mailbox".
A Full Mailbox shows her true popularity . She's scaried and to Nervous to empty it or clear it :P

well Sheriff, what i say is that you start waiting on ICE to get back to you before you and your people decide to release anyone.
ICE works with so many towns that you can not expect an answer every time you call and there is never anything wrong with holding someone a few extra hours till YOU GET THE DAMN ANSWER


PLEASE TELL ME the sheriff isnt that damn stupid

The case has caused an uproar in San Francisco, a city that just recently learned its juvenile probation department was deporting offenders themselves rather than notifying federal officials, because of its 1989 "City of Refuge" sanctuary policy.

IT'S ABOUT TIME, SAN FRANCISCO!! Keep up the roaring! You have the momentum -- ride it till Mayor Nuisance is recalled!

Wouldn't it be a dream come true if this class-action lawsuit came about:

The Citizens of San Francisco vs Mayor Newsom, the SF City Council, SF Sheriffs Office, SFPD, SF District Attorney, SF County Social Services

Now, THAT'S the ultimate DREAM ACT!!