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THE Johnny Wactor murder suspects are also reportedly wanted in connection with a string of store thefts across the state of California.
These new details came to light on Tuesday, August 20, during a meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, ABC7 reported.
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The information was revealed as authorities were discussing the search warrant that ultimately led to four people being arrested in connection with Wactor’s shooting death.
Two of the four suspects have been charged with murder, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced on August 19.
Wactor, who played Brando Corbin on the ABC soap opera, was fatally shot in downtown Los Angeles during the early hours of May 25.
Police said Wactor finished a late-night bartending shift and left the rooftop bar with a co-worker when he noticed three men had hoisted his car up with a floor jack.
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The trio were in the middle of stealing the car’s catalytic converter, when one of the masked suspects shot Wactor without provocation.
Paramedics rushed Wactor to a local hospital, where he was pronounced death.
“Johnny Wactor’s life was senselessly taken while he was simply walking to his parked car,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a release announcing the murder charges.
He said the DA’s office is “committed to seeking justice” for Wactor, adding, “The loss of this talented young actor, who was in the prime of his life and had so much to offer the world, is deeply felt by all of us.”
Suspects Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, have been charged with one count of murder.
Barceleau was charged with one count of murder with special circumstances of murder during an attempted robbery and personal use of a firearm.
He also faces one count of attempted robbery with personal use of a firearm, and one count of grand theft with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm.
He is being held without bail.
Estrada was charged with one count of attempted robbery with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm; and one count of grand theft with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm.
Wactor’s Career
The actor from Charleston, South Carolina, starred in General Hospital between 2020 and 2022.
His first appearance on the show was on January 30, 2020, as Brando Corbin, but he was written out two years later after his character was stabbed by an unknown killer.
However, before playing Corbin, Wactor started his acting career in 2007 by starring in Army Wives.
He also featured in NCIS, Criminal Minds, Station 19, The OA, and West World.
In 2016, he landed a movie role in USS Indianapolis: Men Of Courage, starring Nicolas Cage.
Wactor is set to feature in a new movie by Luca Perito called American Sognare, which is currently in post-production, according to IMDb.
His bail was set at over $2 million.
The third suspect, Leonel Gutierrez, 19, was charged with one count of attempted robbery with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm; and one count of grand theft with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm.
He is being held on $120,000 bail.
Frank Olano, 22, faces one count of accessory after the fact to murder, one count of receiving stolen property, and three counts of being a felon with a firearm.
His bail was set at over $1 million.
If convicted as charged by the DA’s office, Barceleau faces life in prison without parole.
Estrada faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, while Olano and Gutierrez are looking at around five years in jail.
GONE TOO SOON
In an interview with Today, Wactor’s mother Scarlett said she would “use the word ‘hero'” to describe her son, explaining how he “stepped in front of the co-worker and [was shot].”
“Thankful that person’s OK, and that when he died he wasn’t alone,” she said in May.
Wactor’s brother, Grant also paid tribute to the actor in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, describing him as “one of the most charismatic people I knew.”
“I can’t emphasize how hard of a worker he was,” Grant told the newspaper. “He would flip the Scrabble board at home because he was so competitive.
“But he was also one of the most charismatic people I knew. Because when he talked or listened, you could tell it was genuine.”
‘A BEAUTIFUL SOUL’
Several General Hospital stars honored Wactor’s legacy in the days after his death.
“Johnny Wactor was a beautiful, beautiful soul,” General Hospital alum Parry Shen said on X. “We all were cheated of many years with him.”
“I am literally sick to my stomach at this news,” longtime cast member Jon Lindstrom wrote, adding Wactor “one of those rare young men in this business who was kind, unassuming, humble.”
Sofia Mattsson, who played Wactor’s on-screen love interest Sasha Corboin on the soap, remembered her co-star as having a “huge heart that spread so much kindness and joy.
“He always made sure everyone around him felt seen, heard and loved. I admire the man he was so much and I’m a better person for having known him,” she added.
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