Current:Home > MarketsGeneral Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting -Capitatum
General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
View
Date:2025-04-11 23:15:48
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! (62)
Related
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Virginia music teacher Annie Ray wins 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award
- What's going on at the border? A dramatic standoff between Texas and the White House.
- You’ll Adore These Fascinating Facts About Grammy Nominee Miley Cyrus
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Goose found in flight control of medical helicopter that crashed in Oklahoma, killing 3
- Bond denied for suspect charged with murder after Georgia state trooper dies during chase
- Abortion access on the ballot in 2024
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Super Bowl squares: How to play and knowing the best (and worst) squares for the big game
Ranking
- Messi injury update: Ankle 'better every day' but Inter Miami star yet to play Leagues Cup
- Police: Inert Cold War-era missile found in garage of Washington state home
- Off-duty Nebraska police officers shoot and kill two men
- Grammy Awards 2024 Red Carpet Fashion: See Every Look as the Stars Arrive
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- Jillian Michaels Details the No. 1 Diet Mistake People Make—Other Than Ozempic
- Ayo Edebiri confronts Nikki Haley, 'SNL' receives backlash for cameo
- Why Miley Cyrus Nearly Missed Her First-Ever Grammy Win
Recommendation
Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
Neighborhood Reads lives up to its name by building community in Missouri
Winners and losers of NHL All-Star Game weekend: This year's event was much more competitive
Chicagoland mansion formerly owned by R. Kelly, Rudolph Isley, up for sale. See inside
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
What's going on at the border? A dramatic standoff between Texas and the White House.
Pregnant Sofia Richie & Elliot Grainge Turn 2024 Grammys Into A Date Night
See All the Couples Singing a Duet on the 2024 Grammys Red Carpet
Like
- Connie Chiume, Black Panther Actress, Dead at 72: Lupita Nyong'o and More Pay Tribute
- Winners and losers of NHL All-Star Game weekend: This year's event was much more competitive
- Fighting for a Foothold in American Law, the Rights of Nature Movement Finds New Possibilities in a Change of Venue: the Arts