Thread: Trial set to begin in traffic killing of SF family

montereyherald.com
The Associated Press
Posted: 01/02/2012 10:53:53 AM PST

SAN FRANCISCO—Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday for the murder trial of an illegal immigrant accused of fatally shooting a man and his two sons in San Francisco traffic.

Prosecutors say Edwin Ramos was a member of the MS-13 street gang and mistook one of the sons for gang rivals.

Ramos allegedly opened fire on 48-year-old Tony Bologna and sons 20-year-old Michael and 16-year-old Matthew at an Excelsior District intersection on June 22, 2008.

The shootings sparked public outrage over the city's policy for illegal immigrants. Under a loophole, juveniles charged with felonies were not turned over for deportation, which allowed Ramos to stay in the U.S. despite his criminal record.

A state appeals court ruled last year that San Francisco was not legally liable for the deaths because of its sanctuary policy.

http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_19660378

washingtonexaminer.com
By: The Associated Press
01/02/12 1:53 PM

Jury selection is scheduled to start in a long-awaited triple murder trial of an illegal immigrant accused of fatally shooting a man and his two sons in traffic nearly four years ago.

Edwin Ramos is suspected of opening fire on Tony Bologna, 48, and two of his sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, who were shot in their car at an intersection in the city's Excelsior district while driving home from a picnic on June 22, 2008.

A third son inside the car wasn't injured.

Ramos was a member of the MS-13 street gang and mistook one of the sons for a gang rival, prosecutors said.

Ramos has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder, claiming he was the getaway driver and another man in his car was the gunman. That passenger, another suspected MS-13 member, has not been found.

Jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday and take a few weeks. If convicted, Ramos could face life in prison without parole.

The shootings sparked public outrage over San Francisco's sanctuary city policy for illegal immigrants. Under a loophole, juveniles charged with felonies were not turned over for deportation, which allowed Ramos to stay in the U.S. despite his criminal record.

A state appeals court ruled last year that San Francisco was not legally liable for the deaths because of its sanctuary policy.

Bologna's widow and daughter argued that the city was responsible for the shootings because it failed to turn Ramos over to federal immigration authorities after his prior brushes with the law.

Ramos was previously arrested for assault in October 2003 and attempted purse-snatching in 2004 and was sent to juvenile shelters. Court documents don't reveal if police or juvenile courts knew that Ramos had entered the country illegally.

Under the juvenile authorities' interpretation of the sanctuary policy, they would not have turned him over to immigration authorities.

The murders led to a change in the policy. In July 2008, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city employees to report suspected underage illegal immigrants to the federal government after a felony arrest.

City supervisors then passed an ordinance that requires a youth to be found guilty before being reported, but the mayor refused to implement it, saying it violates federal law.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2...#ixzz1iKnuS3Cm

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
January 3, 2012 7:54 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Jury selection was expected to begin Tuesday in the trial of a gang member accused of murdering a father and his two sons in San Francisco’s Excelsior District nearly four years ago – a case which sparked intense debate over the city’s sanctuary policy toward undocumented juvenile offenders.

Edwin Ramos, a 24-year-old El Sobrante resident, is charged with fatally shooting Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, near Maynard and Congdon streets June 22, 2008.


Tony Bologna (left) was shot and killed along with his sons Michael and Matthew in San Francisco’s Excelsior District on June 22, 2008. (CBS)

The Bolognas had been driving from a family picnic in Fairfield to their home in the Excelsior when they came upon another car, allegedly driven by Ramos.

A surviving son testified at Ramos’ preliminary hearing in 2009 that he saw Ramos flash a gun from inside the partly opened window of the other car and begin “mugging” at them before shots were fired.

Ramos, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador and member or the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Sureño street gangs, has admitted to driving the car but told investigators that another man inside the car fired the shots.


Edwin Ramos of El Sobrante is accused of killing Tony Bologna and his two sons on June 22, 2008. (Family Photo)

KCBS’ Chris Filippi Reports: (Audio at link)

Two other alleged MS-13 gang members had been wounded in a shooting in the Mission District earlier that day, and prosecutors have speculated that the Bolognas were mistaken for rival gang members.

Ramos was charged with three counts of murder and multiple special allegations. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The murders made national headlines because of the city’s sanctuary policy, which required that undocumented juvenile offenders not be reported to federal immigration authorities.

Ramos had numerous contacts with San Francisco police for drug and violent crimes as a juvenile, but was not reported to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Following the murders, the city changed the policy and began reporting juvenile offenders.

In 2010, a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Bologna family claiming the city’s former sanctuary policy contributed to the fatal shootings. The dismissal was upheld on appeal in 2011.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/201...ctuary-policy/