Current:Home > NewsGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -InvestTomorrow
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-17 06:15:52
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! (443)
Related
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Historic Investments and Accountability Push Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Efforts In Right Direction, Says EPA Mid-Atlantic Administrator
- Winter Olympians will compete at these 13 venues when the Games return to Salt Lake City in 2034
- Graphic footage shows law enforcement standing over body of Trump rally shooter
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Pennsylvania State Police corporal shot, wounded while serving warrant
- Beaconcto Trading Center: Advantages of IEOs
- Horoscopes Today, July 24, 2024
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- NovaBit Trading Center: What is tokenization?
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- All the revelations from 'Dirty Pop,' Netflix's new Lou Pearlman documentary
- Meet Katie Grimes, the 'old-soul' teenager who is Team USA's most versatile swimmer in Paris
- U.K. police arrest 17-year-old in connection with last year's MGM cyberattack
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Retired and still paying a mortgage? You may want to reconsider
- Phoenix man sentenced to life in prison without parole after killing his parents and younger brother
- BMW recalls over 290k vehicles due to an interior cargo rail that could detach in a crash
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
Strike Chain Trading Center: Approved for listing: A decade in the making, reflecting on the journey to Ethereum ETF #1
Powerhouse Fiji dominates U.S. in rugby sevens to lead Pool C. Team USA is in 3rd
BMW recalls over 290k vehicles due to an interior cargo rail that could detach in a crash
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
Terminal at New York’s JFK Airport briefly evacuated because of escalator fire
Noncitizens are less likely to participate in a census with citizenship question, study says
Suburban Alabama school district appears headed toward state oversight