Suspect pleads not guilty to killing dad, sons san francisco Judge denies Ramos lawyer's request for blanket gag order

This June, 2007 family photograph shows homicide suspect Edwin Ramos with his wife Amelia at a party. Photo courtesy Rosa Martinez Ran on: 06-26-2008 Edwin Ramos, 21, a suspected gang member arrested in the triple slaying, has a wife and baby. Ran on: 06-26-2008 Edwin Ramos, a suspected gang member arrested during a midnight raid, has a wife and baby. Ran on: 06-27-2008 Edwin Ramos is charged with murder in the shooting deaths of the three Bolognas. ALSO Ran on: 06-29-2008 Edwin Ramos, a suspected gang member, was arrested and booked on murder charges. Ran on: 06-28-2008 Edwin Ramos Ran on: 07-20-2008 Edwin Ramos was convicted of two violent crimes as an illegal immigrant teenager. Ran on: 07-20-2008 Edwin Ramos was convicted of two violent crimes as an illegal immigrant teenager. Ran on: 07-22-2008 Homicide suspect Edwin Ramos, with his wife Amelia. Ran on: 07-22-2008 Ran on: 07-22-2008 Edwin Ramos Ran on: 07-24-2008 Edwin Ramos hasn't shown that his ''fair-trial rights have been jeopardized,'' the judge says. Ran on: 07-24-2008 Ran on: 07-27-2008 Edwin Ramos, suspect in S.F. slaying. ALSO Ran on: 08-03-2008 Dianne Feinstein made S.F. a sanctuary city in 1985. ALSO Ran on: 08-31-2008 Ran on: 01-08-2009 Edwin Ramos, accused of killing a father and two sons, had same lawyer as man who turned him in. Ran on: 01-08-2009 Ran on: 01-08-2009 Ran on: 01-08-2009 Edwin Ramos, accused of killing a father and two sons, had same lawyer as man who turned him in. Ran on: 01-08-2009 Ran on: 01-08-2009 less This June, 2007 family photograph shows homicide suspect Edwin Ramos with his wife Amelia at a party. Photo courtesy Rosa Martinez Ran on: 06-26-2008 Edwin Ramos, 21, a suspected gang member arrested in the ... more Photo: Courtesy Rosa Martinez Photo: Courtesy Rosa Martinez Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Suspect pleads not guilty to killing dad, sons 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An alleged gang member accused of triple murder in the slayings of a San Francisco father and two sons pleaded not guilty Wednesday at a hearing in which the judge refused to issue a blanket gag order in the high-profile case.

Edwin Ramos, 21, is accused of the June 22 shooting deaths of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, in the city's Excelsior district. In an appearance before Judge Lucy Kelly McCabe, Ramos spoke softly and slowly in denying each of the allegations.

The defense sought the gag order after The Chronicle revealed that Ramos was an illegal immigrant who was found to have committed two felonies at age 17 - a gang-related assault of a Muni passenger and the attempted robbery of a pregnant woman - but was not surrendered by San Francisco juvenile justice authorities to federal officials for possible deportation.

The report has triggered outrage on local and national talk shows, and Danielle Bologna said city officials "need to take responsibility" for actions that she says led to the killings of her husband and sons.

Ramos' attorney, Robert Amparan, told the court Wednesday the case was fast "becoming national media fodder" and said he was concerned about an atmosphere of "vigilantism."

He said his office has received threatening calls and that he was concerned about comments posted by readers on The Chronicle's Web site, SFGate.

Federal authorities say Ramos, a Salvadoran native whom police believe was involved in the MS-13 street gang, was awaiting deportation proceedings at the time of the slayings after being turned down for temporary residency. But Amparan insisted outside court that Ramos was in the United States legally and that federal officials were wrong about his immigration status.

He has also said the reports about Ramos' criminal history are false, but has declined to be specific.

McCabe said she saw no grounds to issue a gag order that would prevent attorneys, law enforcement officials and Ramos from talking publicly about the case outside court. She left open the possibility that she would issue an order barring further disclosures related to Ramos' juvenile criminal records, which by law are not open to public examination.

"At this point, there has been insufficient showing that Mr. Ramos' fair-trial rights have been jeopardized," the judge said in denying the gag-order request.

McCabe told Ramos to return to court next Wednesday on the juvenile-records issue.

Also Wednesday, federal officials provided more details from their records about the chain of events that led to Ramos' release from San Francisco city jail in April, despite that he had already been flagged by federal authorities as an illegal immigrant.

Ramos was let go after San Francisco prosecutors declined to charge him in connection with a March 30 arrest on suspicion of weapons and gang violations.

Sheriff Michael Hennessey has said deputies faxed a notice to the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office four hours after Ramos and a companion were arrested, inquiring about their immigration status. The sheriff says the federal office never replied and that Ramos was released early April 2.

Later, Hennessey said, deputies electronically queried a federal database about Ramos' status to determine whether the Sheriff's Department could bill the federal government for his jail stay.

According to Tim Counts, spokesman for ICE, the only communication his agency received about Ramos came by way of the electronic request at 3:44 a.m. April 2, nearly two hours after Ramos was released. He said there is no record that ICE received any fax from the Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's deputies queried the agency by phone April 1 about the man arrested with Ramos, Erick Lopez, and an immigration hold was placed on him, Counts said.

In response, Hennessey said, "I believe their information is incorrect. I'm sorry that the dialogue around this case has stooped to this level. I look forward to cooperating with them in the future."