2 Sentenced in Connection With Murder of Johnny Wactor

Men were not accused of killing the actor, but were linked to the crime
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 16, 2025 1:30 AM CST
2 Sentenced in Connection With Murder of Johnny Wactor
Johnny Wactor arrives at the world premiere of "The Mule" on Dec. 10, 2018, in Los Angeles.   (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, FILE)

Two men convicted of lesser crimes connected to the killing of former General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor were sentenced to state prison on Wednesday, the AP reports. Neither Leonel Gutierrez nor Frank Olano was charged with killing Wactor, who was shot when he interrupted three thieves stealing the catalytic converter from his car in downtown Los Angeles on May 25. Gutierrez, 19, received four years in California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft and attempted robbery. Olano, 22, who was not at the scene of the killing, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after pleading no contest to being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property.

Two co-defendants, Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, are charged with the murder in the death of Wactor. Earlier this month, a judge found that there was enough evidence for them to go to trial. Both have pleaded not guilty. Police and prosecutors said the 37-year-old Wactor had left work at a downtown LA rooftop bar with a coworker when he saw three men who had hoisted his car. One of them fired at him and killed him, authorities said. "He noticed them and thought he was being towed," Wactor's mother told Extra in a previous appearance. "And he asked them ... 'Are you towing my car?' And when the guy looked up and had a mask on, he immediately stepped back in front of Anita and put his hands down and out and the guy shot him point-blank in the heart."

(More General Hospital stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X