Federal investigators believe a former Herrin man who is wanted by the FBI for murder and labeled as armed and extremely dangerous is hiding out in Southern Illinois.

Tony Ray Amati, 21, also known as Phillip D. Gitlitz, Anthony Ray Jones, Debon D. Restivito and Shane W. Wade, is among the FBI’s 10 most wanted. He is charged by Las Vegas authorities with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon.

Amati is accused of committing three murders in a three-month period with two other suspects, Troy Sampson and Eddie James.

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According to America’s Most Wanted website, Amati’s last known location is Carbondale were he was arrested Aug. 29 for driving under the influence of alcohol. Amati had given SIUC Police the alias Shane W. Wade, and he posted bond and was released.

“It is relatively common and simple for someone to get a fake I.D. If they have a good I.D. with a picture, it’s pretty hard to dispute,” SIUC Police Sgt. Steve Ellis said.

Ellis said that if there is no reason to believe the person is not who they say they are, there is no reason to take additional measures.

Amati was arrested by SIUC police before he was indicted in Clark County, Nev., for the shootings.

According to Las Vegas FBI Special Agent Aurelio Flores, Amati, Sampson and James broke into a Las Vegas gun store in May 1996 and stole 75 firearms.

Michael Matta, 27, a Las Vegas homeless man, was shot numerous times and killed the next day in a parking lot.

In July, John Garcia, 49, was shot in his driveway, just two blocks from where Matta was killed.

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Four weeks later Keith Dyer, 22, was shot and killed early in the morning as he was walking co-worker Stacey Dooley, 17, to her apartment from the 24-hour fast food restaurant where they worked. Dooley survived the attack with only one gunshot wound to her leg.

When Dyer and Dooley were gunned down, one of the pistols used had a laser sight fitted to it.

Dooley told investigators that the gunmen were laughing as they fled the scene.

“They just came around the corner and opened up to see if their weapons worked,” Flores said.

The similarity between the murders is the heinous nature of the crimes. Each of the bodies had been shot up to 20 times.

Amati, Sampson and James were arrested Oct. 3, 1996 after allegedly attempting to sell the stolen weapons to undercover detectives. Sampson and James are in police custody.

The arrest gave police enough evidence for a search warrant for Amati’s home where they found a handgun with a fitted laser sight.

Amati had posted bail and disappeared by that time.

The FBI suspect that Amati might still be in Southern Illinois because he has family in the area. He appears on the main homepage of both the FBI and America’s Most Wanted on the World Wide Web.

The FBI is offering $50,000 for information leading to the apprehension of Amati.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the local FBI or the local law enforcement agency. Flores said anyone who spots Amati should not approach him.

“He has little value for human life,” Flores said.

Flores said every tip will be checked. Tips are encouraged even if the description is not exact.

“You never know where your good leads are going to come from,” Flores said.