Current:Home > ContactGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -Prime Money Path
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-11 13:35:37
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! (462)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- July is set to be hottest month ever recorded, U.N. says, citing latest temperature data
- Harry Styles Spotted With Olivia Tattoo Months After Olivia Wilde Breakup
- Pregnant Shawn Johnson Is Open to Having More Kids—With One Caveat
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Expand your workspace and use your iPad as a second screen without any cables. Here's how.
- Appeals court seen as likely to revive 2 sexual abuse suits against Michael Jackson
- Some renters may get relief from biggest apartment construction boom in decades, but not all
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- America's farms are desperate for labor. Foreign workers bring relief and controversy
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- From trash-strewn beach to artwork: How artists are raising awareness of plastic waste
- The Jackson water crisis through a student journalist's eyes
- These scientists explain the power of music to spark awe
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Why it's so important to figure out when a vital Atlantic Ocean current might collapse
- GM reverses its plans to halt Chevy Bolt EV production
- Watch this lonesome turtle weighed down by barnacles get help from a nearby jet-skier
Recommendation
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
Randall Park, the person, gets quizzed on Randall Park, the mall
Rangers acquire Scherzer from Mets in blockbuster move by surprise AL West leaders
3 dead after plane crashes into airport hangar in Upland, California
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Tupac Shakur ring sells for record $1 million at New York auction
Plaintiffs in voting rights case urge judges to toss Alabama’s new congressional map
Back-to-school 2023 sales tax holidays: See which 17 states offer them.