18-Year-Olds Charged With Murdering Johnny Wactor

UPDATE Aug 20, 2024 12:00 AM CDT

Two 18-year-olds have been charged in the slaying of actor Johnny Wactor. Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada were charged in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday; they were also charged with grand theft and attempted robbery, the AP reports. Estrada faces life in prison while Barceleau, because his charges include special circumstances including murder during an attempted robbery and personal use of a firearm, faces life without possibility of parole. The two other men arrested with them Thursday also face charges: Leonel Gutierrez, was charged with grand theft and attempted robbery and Frank Olano was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Aug 16, 2024 12:19 AM CDT

Four young men have been arrested in the murder of former General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor. The Los Angeles Police Department says the suspects are from the Los Angeles area; Wactor was killed in downtown LA in the wee hours of May 25 when he stumbled upon three men attempting to steal the catalytic converter from his car as he was returning to it after finishing a shift working at a rooftop bar, the AP reports. Robert Barceleau, 18; Leonel Gutierrez, 18; and Sergio Estrada, 18, were booked on suspicion of murder and Frank Olano, 22, was booked on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, ABC 7 reports.

Police say the alleged thieves had the car "raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter" when Wactor and a female co-worker approached the group; Wactor's family says he had stepped in front of his co-worker to protect her just before he was shot. Police say one of the men who had the car hoisted shot Wactor in the chest without provocation before all of them fled in a getaway car. Wactor's friends and family have been ceaselessly calling for justice. Wactor would have turned 38 at the end of this month. (More Los Angeles stories.)