Apr 7, 2009 11:34 am US/Pacific
Family Sues SF Over Triple Killing Of Father, Sons
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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Tony Bologna and one of his sons.
CBS
Attorneys for the surviving family members of a father and two sons fatally shot in San Francisco's Excelsior district in 2008 have filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging its sanctuary policy contributed to their deaths.
Edwin Ramos, a 22-year-old suspected member of the MS-13 street gang, is being held without bail for allegedly fatally shooting Anthony "Tony" Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, on June 22.
The three were found shot inside their car. Police have said they may have been mistaken for rival gang members.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, the Bologna family alleges the city's "illegal sanctuary policies were a substantial factor" in the killings.
The lawsuit claims Ramos was in the country illegally, had a history of violence and several prior contacts with San Francisco police as a minor, but the sanctuary policy kept police and juvenile probation officers from reporting him to federal immigration authorities for deportation.
"What we're saying is that the city adopted and enforced a policy that was actually inconsistent with and prohibited by federal law," Michael Kelly, an attorney for the Bologna family, said Tuesday.
Kelly said if the case goes to trial, a jury would decide to what extent the city was responsible for the deaths.
The city attorney's office declined to comment on the case. A statement from Mayor Gavin Newsom's office also declined to address the case specifically.
"I am deeply sympathetic to the Bologna family's devastating loss," said Newsom in the statement. "A terrible crime was committed and my heart goes out to the family."
Ramos faces three counts of murder and multiple special allegations involving gang membership, firearm use and multiple murders that could result in life in prison without parole, and is still awaiting trial.
A preliminary hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for May.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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