Current:Home > MyGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -Wealth Empowerment Zone
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-17 20:13:16
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! (5735)
Related
- Sam Taylor
- Dennis Quaid Has Rare Public Outing With His and Meg Ryan's Look-Alike Son Jack Quaid
- NFL wild-card weekend injuries: Steelers star T.J. Watt out vs. Bills with knee injury
- Florida woman arrested after police say she beat poodle to death with frying pan
- Family of explorer who died in the Titan sub implosion seeks $50M-plus in wrongful death lawsuit
- Kremlin foe Navalny says he’s been put in a punishment cell in an Arctic prison colony
- Iowa school shooter's parents say they had 'no inkling of horrible violence'
- Are Meryl Streep and Martin Short Dating? His Rep Says...
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel absolutely obliterates Aaron Rodgers in new monologue
Ranking
- Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
- How Texas officials stymied nonprofits' efforts to help migrants they bused to northern cities
- Tina Fey consulted her kids on new 'Mean Girls': 'Don't let those millennials overthink it!'
- OSCE laments Belarus’ refusal to allow its monitors to observe February’s parliamentary vote
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- After a 'historic' year, here are the states with the strongest and weakest gun laws in 2024
- RHOSLC Reunion: The Rumors and Nastiness Continue in Dramatic Preview
- Tom Felton's Reunion With Harry Potter Dad Jason Isaacs Is Pure Magic
Recommendation
Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
Amazon Can’t Keep These 21 Fashion Items in Stock Because They’re Always Selling Out
Bottled water contains up to 100 times more plastic than previously estimated, new study says
3 people dead, including suspected gunman, in shooting at Cloquet, Minnesota hotel: Police
'Most Whopper
Hezbollah launches drone strike on base in northern Israel. Israel’s military says there’s no damage
Former President Clinton, House members mourn former Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson at funeral
Thierry Henry says he had depression during career and cried “almost every day” early in pandemic