Widow Danielle Bologna said it is "a beautiful day" after learning the man convicted of killing her family as they returned home to from a picnic in will spend the rest of his life in prison.
It was four years ago this month that Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16 were murdered in a drive-by shooting that investigators believe was a case of mistaken identity by gang members. A third son was in the car and survived the shooting. He testified for the prosecution during the trial.
Monday, the convicted killer, Edwin Ramos, 25, was sentenced for what Superior Court Judge Charles Haines called a "brutal, senseless" crime.
Ramos testified during the trial that a passenger in his car did the shooting and then disappeared. Monday, without taking any blame or responsibility, he said if he could go back in time and change things he would.
"If I could trade places with either one of the people that died, I would do it," he said.
Ramos' attorneys plan to file an appeal. Before the sentencing, they were asking for a retrial, citing juror misconduct and emotional displays from the Bolognas, among other arguments. They failed to sway the judge and now Ramos is headed for life in prison.
"I feel bad; he's a young man, 24 years old," Ramos' attorney Marla Zamora said. "He had a wife, and his kid."
Prosecutors praised the judge.
"The judge is making clear the people who participate in gang life and gang violence, stop it, don't do it because if you do and we can prove it, you will pay the steepest price," San Francisco assistant district attorney Harry Dorfman said.
Danielle Bologna continues to pay an unimaginable price -- the loss of loved ones and her former life. She and her remaining children are in the witness protection program. She says the condolences offered by Ramos mean nothing.
Ramos could be transferred from the San Francisco jail as early as this week to be processed at San Quentin State Prison.
