Current:Home > InvestGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -ProfitSphere Academy
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:03:12
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! (679)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Pregnant Teen Mom Star Kailyn Lowry Reveals the True Sexes of Her Twins
- Growing concerns from allies over Israel’s approach to fighting Hamas as civilian casualties mount
- Man charged with killing a Michigan woman whose body was found in a pickup faces new charges
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Myanmar military court sentences general ousted from ruling council to 5 years for corruption
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami vs. NYCFC friendly: How to watch, live updates
- This physics professor ran 3,000 miles across America in record time
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Are banks open today or on Veterans Day? Is the post office closed? Here's what to know.
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Woman arrested after Veterans Memorial statue in South Carolina is destroyed, peed on: Police
- After a Last-Minute Challenge to New Loss and Damage Deal, U.S. Joins Global Consensus Ahead of COP28
- Matt Ulrich, former Super Bowl champ, dead at age 41
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- 'Half American' explores how Black WWII servicemen were treated better abroad
- Sam Bankman-Fried is guilty, and the industry he helped build wants to move on
- Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt.
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
Oklahoma trooper tickets Native American citizen, sparking outrage from tribal leaders
‘Nope’ star Keke Palmer alleges physical abuse by ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson, court documents say
A missile strike targets Kyiv as Russian train carriages derail due to ‘unauthorized interference’
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
Body of South Dakota native who’s been missing for 30 years identified in Colorado
Let's Take a Moment to Appreciate Every Lavish Detail of Paris Hilton's 3-Day Wedding
Yellen says her talks with Chinese finance chief laid groundwork for Biden’s meeting with Xi