SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- The family of a father and his two sons who were gunned down last year have filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco, claiming its sanctuary policy contributed to their deaths.
Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were gunned down in the Excelsior District on June 16 after possibly being mistaken for rival gang members, according to police.
Edwin Ramos, 22, a suspected member of the MS-13 gang, has been charged with their murders.
The Bologna family lawsuit alleges that the city's sanctuary policy shielding illegal immigrants - even those charged with a crime - allowed Ramos to stay in this country illegally. Ramos had a history of violence and several prior contacts with San Francisco police as a minor. But city policy prevented officers from turning him over 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 culpable 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. He is still awaiting trial.
A preliminary hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for May.
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