Shooting Suspect Still at Large After Police Raid 18 Homes

About 200 police officers raided 18 homes in four cities early Thursday looking for a gang member believed to have been involved in a fatal shooting at a Fullerton party last month.

The subject of the search was Amit Aguilar Frias, 17, a Santa Ana resident also known as “Emmit” and “Stranger,” authorities said. Another gang member--Victor Salgado, 19, of Santa Ana--already has been arrested and charged with murder in the case, said Joe Klein, a spokesman for the Fullerton Police Department.

Police believe that Frias and Salgado opened fire early Jan. 9 in front of hundreds of people attending a party at Wilshire Court, a popular Fullerton meeting hall. A deejay entertaining at the event--David Sanchez, 20, of Fountain Valley--was shot in the chest and died at the scene. Two other men were wounded.

The homes raided Thursday in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove and San Juan Capistrano were residences of gang members known to have attended the party. Police did not find Frias, but they did arrest six others on drug charges and probation violations unrelated to the shooting.

Frias, who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes, should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. Anyone with information about him is asked to contact local police or Det. Bob Richardson of the Fullerton Police Department at (714) 738-6762.