A hearing is set to begin Monday for two young men charged with murder in connection with last year’s shooting death of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor as he came upon a group of people trying to steal the catalytic converter from his parked car in downtown Los Angeles.
Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is expected to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against Robert Isaiah Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, to proceed to trial.
Barceleau and Estrada are charged with one count each of murder, attempted second-degree robbery and grand theft involving the May 25, 2024, attack on Wactor.
Barceleau — the alleged gunman — is also facing a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, along with allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury and death to Wactor.
Barceleau and Estrada are also facing allegations filed last month that the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, while Estrada is facing an allegation that someone involved in the crime personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury and death.
Two other defendants pleaded guilty or no contest last year to less serious charges.
Leonel Gutierrez, now 19, remains free on bond while awaiting sentencing Jan. 15 in connection with his plea to one count each of attempted robbery and grand theft.
It will be up to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kerry L. White to determine the sentence for Gutierrez, who entered the plea without any agreement with prosecutors about his sentence. He is facing a maximum of four years and eight months in state prison.
Frank Olano, 22, is set to be sentenced Jan. 15 by Olmedo as a result of his plea last October to one count each of being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property and three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court records. It was not immediately clear what his maximum sentence could be.
The Los Angeles Times, citing an affidavit in support of a search warrant, reported that police targeted Barceleau, Estrada and Gutierrez because their fingerprints were allegedly found on a floor jack they used while trying to steal Wactor’s catalytic converter.
Wactor was shot about 3:30 a.m. last May 25 while walking with a co- worker toward his parked car near Hope Street and Pico Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles after finishing his bartending shift at the nearby Level 8 bar/restaurant.
Los Angeles police said that the pair encountered a crew of people trying to steal the catalytic converter from Wactor’s car, and that one of them shot Wactor as he approached.
The suspects had Wactor’s vehicle raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter, police said, adding that Wactor was shot by one of the individuals without provocation.
The Los Angeles Police Department had previously released surveillance photos of the suspects believed to have killed Wactor, along with images of an allegedly stolen 2018 black, four-door Infiniti Q50 in which the suspects were believed to have escaped by driving northbound on Hope Street.
Barceleau, Estrada, Gutierrez and Olano were arrested Aug. 15 in a series of raids carried out by Los Angeles police.
Wactor appeared on nearly 200 episodes of “General Hospital” from 2020-22. His other credits included “Westworld,” “The OA,” “NCIS,” “Station 19,” “Criminal Minds” and “Hollywood Girl.”
–City News Service
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