Current:Home > InvestGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -WealthSphere Pro
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:11:45
Authorities have made multiple arrests in connection to the shooting death of Johnny Wactor.
The Los Angeles Police Department took four people into custody Aug. 15 as part of the investigation into the General Hospital actor’s homicide, according to a news release.
Robert Barceleau, 18, Leonel Gutierrez, 18, and Sergio Estrada, 18, were booked on arrest warrants for murder, while 22-year-old Frank Olano was booked on a warrant for accessory after the fact, per police.
E! News was unable to determine if the four had obtained lawyers to speak on their behalf.
Wactor was shot and killed May 25 in downtown L.A. after discovering thieves tampering with a car, his mother told NBC Los Angeles at the time.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting at 3:25 a.m. to find Wactor suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, per an LAPD press release. The soap star was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Based on witness statements, Wactor had ended his shift as a bartender at a local bar and walked to his vehicle," read a May 28 press release from the LAPD. "When Wactor arrived at his vehicle, he was confronted by three individuals who had Wactor’s vehicle raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter. Without provocation, the victim was shot by one of the individuals."
Police said the three suspects fled the scene in a dark sedan.
Wactor’s coworker Anita Joy later detailed the 37-year-old’s heroic final moments in the wake of his death, sharing that they were leaving the bar together when they came across the men.
"We cautiously approached the men, questioning what they were doing, at first thinking the car was being towed," she wrote on Instagram on May 29. "We were no threat and Johnny kept his cool as he always did, simply stating that it was his car and for them to leave. Hands open to his sides in peace."
Wactor stood in front of her to shield her from the perpetrators, but in an "instant" she said they were attacked.
"As I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcefully tumbled back into my arms," she recalled. "As I grabbed for him, I shouted 'Hunny you ok?!' And he only responded, 'Nope! Shot!' We toppled onto the street where I pushed my legs under him and tried to hold his body up while screaming for help and screaming at him to stay with me."
Joy said she watched her friend of eight years die in her arms, adding she’s “utterly heartbroken and so very angry” over his passing.
"My only peace is that I was with him and this didn't happen to him alone,” she wrote. “My only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice."
Read on to look back on his life in photos.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (183)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Loved 'Oppenheimer?' This film tells the shocking true story of a Soviet spy at Los Alamos
- Rare otter attack injures three women floating on inner tubes on popular Montana river
- Brazilian president’s former lawyer takes seat as Supreme Court justice
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Ahead of crucial season, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is 'embracing' mounting criticism
- Ex-police union boss gets 2 years in prison for $600,000 theft
- University of Wisconsin Oshkosh announces layoffs, furloughs to shrink $18 million deficit
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Tom Brady Makes a Surprise Soccer Announcement on His 46th Birthday
Ranking
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Watch: Sisters find kitten at Indy 500, welcome him home to cat family
- Orange County judge arrested in murder of his wife: Police
- When temps rise, so do medical risks. Should doctors and nurses talk more about heat?
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Investigation timeline of Gilgo Beach murders
- James Barnes, Florida man who dropped appeals, executed for 1988 hammer killing of nurse
- Man survives being stabbed through the head with a flagpole, police say
Recommendation
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
Ford teases F-150 reveal, plans to capture buyers not yet sold on electric vehicles
Court throws out conviction after judge says Black man ‘looks like a criminal to me’
Hyundai and Kia recall nearly 92,000 cars and urge outdoor parking due to fire risk
Trump's 'stop
A landmark study opens a new possible way for Black Americans to trace their ancestry
Veteran Massachusetts police sergeant charged with assaulting 72-year-old neighbor
Global food prices rise after Russia ends grain deal and India restricts rice exports