Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the trial of an alleged gang member charged with the 2008 murders of a father and his two sons in San Francisco’s Excelsior District.
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.
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 has admitted to driving the car but told investigators that another man inside the car fired the shots.
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, including gang membership, firearm use and multiple murders. 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.
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