Newport Police Stage Raids in Ontario : Crime: Dozens of officers search homes in investigation of pier shooting last weekend that killed a man and wounded another. No gun is found.

ONTARIO — About 60 police investigators from Orange County and Ontario served search warrants at eight homes of alleged gang members Friday in an attempt to find the gunman who shot and killed one man and injured another at Newport Pier last weekend.

The 90-minute raid failed to locate a suspect or the .25-caliber handgun used in the shootings.

“We would have loved to find the weapon we were looking for,” said Newport Beach Police Chief Robert J. McDonell. “But I think another purpose of this was to send a message to those who would come to our community and make trouble.”

“We’ll use any means to follow through on our investigation, if that means going to Ontario to protect our residents and visitors,” McDonell said. “I don’t think the community should have to tolerate their behavior.”

At one of the homes, police found a newspaper clipping about last weekend’s shooting at the pier. At another, a cabinet door was covered with gang monikers and slogans.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis said police “did collect additional evidence to keep this investigation going,” but declined to elaborate. No one was hurt in the sweep through the mostly single-family neighborhoods, police said.

The mix of detectives, canine units and Special Weapons and Tactical teams--40 of them from Newport Beach--gathered at the Ontario Police Department at 5:30 a.m. Ninety minutes later, they began awakening reputed gang members who live about a mile from the station and searching their homes.

Seven of the eight alleged members were home sleeping when investigators banged on their front doors demanding entry in both English and Spanish.

The alleged gang members, who were between 16 and 20 years of age, were handcuffed while detectives cited the warrants to search for weapons or gang-related graffiti and photographs, Gonis said.

The early morning raid also woke up several neighbors, some of whom watched from their porches.

“This doesn’t happen here,” said a 24-year-old woman who identified herself only as Elizabeth. “It’s a quiet neighborhood.”

The sweep was in response to the July 31 shooting, which resulted in Newport Beach’s third homicide this year. There were no slayings last year.

Police said that several alleged gang members from Santa Ana had been bar-hopping in a rented white limousine Friday night before the shooting. About 1 a.m. Saturday, the limousine stopped at the Newport Pier so its passengers could use the public restroom. Soon after, officers were called to the scene on a report that shots were being fired.

Jorge Rico, 32, was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where he died two hours later. The second victim, Jose Ceja, 23, was treated at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana for three gunshot wounds. He was released from the hospital Tuesday.

According to the search warrant affidavit, unidentified witnesses pointed to a gray 1988 Chevrolet pickup truck trying to leave the scene. An officer held its driver and four passengers for questioning after the shootings.

They told investigators they were members of an Ontario gang, the affidavit shows. Officers also found in the truck a box of two dozen .25-caliber cartridges and a black fabric holster for a small-caliber handgun, the affidavit said. Officers also found seven .25-caliber bullet casings in front of the public bathroom. according to the document.

Enrique Morales, 18, of Ontario, who was initially identified as the gunman, was arrested at the pier. Six other members of the same gang were also questioned.

All seven denied firing the shots. They told investigators they belonged to the same gang and had “a confrontation with a rival gang from Santa Ana” that resulted in the shooting, the affidavit said. They also identified an eighth member who had gotten away.

The seven suspects were released later that day, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, police obtained search warrants based on the belief that the Ontario gang members “would hold onto the shooting weapon as a trophy.”