The trial of an alleged MS-13 gang member accused of killing a father and his two sons in San Francisco’s Excelsior District in 2008 is finishing up Tuesday with closing arguments by the prosecutor and defense attorney.
Edwin Ramos, 25, of El Sobrante, is charged with fatally shooting Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, near Maynard and Congdon streets on June 22, 2008.
Prosecutors say Ramos shot the Bolognas after mistaking them for rival gang members and that the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting earlier that day that injured another MS-13 member.
Defense attorney Marla Zamora has said that Ramos left the gang in 2007 but remained friends with gang members, including Wilfredo “Flaco” Reyes.
Zamora said that Ramos was driving the vehicle from which the shots were fired, but that Reyes was the shooter. Reyes remains at large.
During the trial, which started in January, Assistant District Attorney Harry Dorfman brought in Andrew Bologna to testify about the shooting.
Bologna, the lone survivor of the shooting, said he was with his father and brothers on their way back from a family outing in Fairfield when a gray Chrysler 300 pulled alongside their car.
He testified that Ramos gave a mean look to his father, then pulled out a gun and opened fire, and that he did not see anyone else in the Chrysler.
Ramos took the stand to testify on his own behalf earlier this month. He denied responsibility for the shootings, and also talked about his rough upbringing, including verbal abuse from his mother and physical abuse by one of her boyfriends.
The case gained national attention because of San Francisco’s sanctuary policy, which shielded undocumented juveniles suspected of crimes from being reported to federal immigration agents.
Ramos moved legally to the U.S. from El Salvador in his early teens but his visa later expired. Despite that, he was never reported to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials following multiple contacts with police as a juvenile.
The city changed its policy after the Bologna murders.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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