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Jul 23, 2008 8:26 pm US/Pacific
Accused SF Triple-Murder Shooter Pleads Not Guilty
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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Edwin Ramos enters a San Francisco courtroom.
CBS
An alleged gang member pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday to a triple slaying in an apparent road rage case that ended in the deaths of a 49-year-old man and his two sons.
Edwin Ramos is accused of gunning down Anthony 'Tony' Bologna, and his sons, 20-year-old Michael, and 16-year-old Matthew, with an AK-47 assault weapon after their car blocked his vehicle's ability to turn on a narrow street in San Francisco's Excelsior District.
Flanked by his attorney Robert Amparan, Ramos repeated "not guilty" three times for each of the three victims found shot dead in their car on the afternoon of June 22 following what police have called a "traffic altercation."
Investigators believe Ramos, of El Sobrante, was the shooter and was riding in another car containing as many as three suspects. Ramos was arrested at his home three days later, where police also recovered the car believed to have been used in the murders.
Police and prosecutors said Ramos is a suspected member of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, street gang.
Amparan said his client was not the shooter and denied that he was a gang member. The attorney contended that police nabbed the wrong person.
But the case has sparked debate over a San Francisco 'sanctuary city' law that shields illegal immigrants from being deported and put pressure on District Attorney Kamala Harris to seek the death penalty against Ramos.
Ramos, 21, is an illegal immigrant who has avoided deportation despite previous brushes with the law as a juvenile.
Amparan sought a gag order Wednesday from Judge Lucy McCabe barring authorities involved in the case from discussing details publicly, after what he described as "vigilante-ism" ensuing from news reports about the killings and the sanctuary city policy.
"It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to have a fair trial," Amparan told McCabe, adding that reports about his client's immigration status, alleged gang membership and juvenile criminal record were becoming "national media fodder."
McCabe did not make a final ruling on the proposed gag order, which was postponed for a further hearing on the matter July 30, but indicated that there was so far "an insufficient showing that Mr. Ramos' fair trial rights have been jeopardized."
Ramos is currently charged with three counts of murder and multiple special allegations involving gang membership, firearm use and multiple murders.
Outside the courtroom, Frank Kennedy, Anthony Bologna's brother-in-law, said of the 'not guilty' plea, "I knew that was coming."
Kennedy said he and his family were committed to seeing the court process through "step by step," adding that he continued to "believe in the judicial system in the city and county of San Francisco."
"Certainly it's difficult to sit in the same courtroom with the person who's alleged to have committed three capital murders against my family," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he would like to see prosecutors seek the death penalty against Ramos, but acknowledged that "everybody has their own take" on it.
Harris had previously pledged not to seek the death penalty in San Francisco during her tenure.
"I hope that the District Attorney's Office will change their mind in this case," Kennedy said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
