Current:Home > ContactGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -Infinite Edge Capital
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:36:02
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! (92146)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?
- One church, two astronauts. How a Texas congregation is supporting its members on the space station
- The Daily Money: A rout for stocks
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Pressure mounts on Victor Wembanyama, France in basketball at Paris Olympics
- Video shows hulking rocket cause traffic snarl near SpaceX launch site
- Taylor Swift continues to shriek during this song. At first fans thought she was falling.
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Horoscopes Today, August 3, 2024
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Slow Wheels of Policy Leave Low-Income Residents of Nashville Feeling Brunt of Warming Climate
- Washington, Virginia Tech lead biggest snubs in the college football preseason coaches poll
- MLB power rankings: Losers of 20 in a row, White Sox push for worst record ever
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- How Noah Lyles' coach pumped up his star before he ran to Olympic gold in 100 meters
- College football season outlooks for Top 25 teams in US LBM preseason coaches poll
- Election conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential race live on in Michigan’s GOP primary
Recommendation
B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
Preseason college football coaches poll: Who are the most overrated teams?
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunges 12.4% as world markets tremble over risks to the US economy
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes Make Rare Appearance at 2024 Paris Olympics
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Head bone connected to the clavicle bone and then a gold medal for sprinter Noah Lyles
Head bone connected to the clavicle bone and then a gold medal for sprinter Noah Lyles
U.S. women cap off Paris Olympic swimming with world-record gold in medley relay