4 Arrested in Killing of Former 'General Hospital' Actor Johnny Wactor

Entertainment

By Associated Press

Published 4 weeks ago on

August 16, 2024

Friends and supporters of late actor Johnny Wactor, pictured left, hold a news conference to demand justice for the former "General Hospital" actor during a news conference outside Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles Tuesday, Aug.13, 2024. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)

Four suspects, including three 18-year-olds and one 22-year-old, were arrested and held on $2 million bail each.
Wactor, 37, was shot and killed on May 25 when he interrupted thieves stealing the catalytic converter from his car.
The actor's mother, Scarlett Wactor, expressed her grief, saying she can't wish him happy birthday or ask about his day anymore.

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LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police arrested four people on Thursday in the fatal shooting of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor.

Robert Barceleau, Leonel Gutierrez, and Sergio Estrada, all 18 years old, were booked on arrest warrants for murder. Frank Olano, 22, was booked for being an alleged accessory to the crime.

They all were being held in lieu of $2 million bail, jail records showed. The Associated Press was unable to determine if they had attorneys to speak on their behalf after making calls to the county jail and Los Angeles Police Department seeking information.

Search Warrants Lead to Arrests

Officers conducted search warrants at several locations throughout Los Angeles that led to the arrests Thursday morning, according to a news release from the LAPD. Officers also recovered additional evidence while conducting the searches, police said. No further details have been shared about the arrests or the evidence.

Wactor was shot and killed when he interrupted thieves stealing the catalytic converter from his car in the early morning of May 25. Police said the 37-year-old had left work at a rooftop bar with a coworker when he saw three men who had hoisted his car. Police said one of them fired at him without provocation and killed him.

The men fled in a car and Wactor was taken to a hospital, where he was later declared dead, police said.

Public’s Help Sought in Identifying Suspects

Police on Aug. 5 asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspects, releasing surveillance images of them and their getaway car.

Wactor, a South Carolina native, portrayed Brando Corbin on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” from 2020 to 2022. He also appeared in a variety of films and TV series, including “Station 19,” “NCIS” and “Westworld,” as well as in the video game “Call of Duty: Vanguard.”

His agent, David Shaul, said just after Wactor’s death that he “always kept his chin up and kept striving for the best he could be.”

Family’s Grief and Loss

At a news conference earlier in the week, his mother described the feeling of losing him.

“Grief is my constant companion,” Scarlett Wactor said. “I can’t wish him happy birthday on Aug. 31 — he would have been 38. I can’t ask if he’s coming home for Christmas. I can’t ask how his day went.”