Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is set to announce criminal charges Monday in the murder of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, who was killed in May by men suspected of trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car.
Los Angeles Police Department Interim Chief Dominic Choi will also be present at the news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. at the downtown Hall of Justice, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office issued Sunday.
Four men have been arrested in connection with the killing, the Los Angeles Police Department announced last week. Law enforcement sources told The Times that the investigation had focused on the 13 members of the Florencia gang linked to catalytic converter thefts in the region.
After reviewing videos and interviewing witnesses, LAPD homicide detectives identified three men, one with distinctive facial tattoos, who they say lifted Wactor’s car on Hope Street near Pico Boulevard to steal his catalytic converter on the morning of May 25. Wactor was shot when he confronted the men.
Robert Barceleau, Leonel Gutierrez and Sergio Estrada were arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder and held on $2 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department records. Another person, Frank Olano, 22, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.
Wactor had just finished a late-night shift as a bartender at the nearby Level 8 bar around 3:20 a.m. when he and co-worker Anita Joy were walking to their car and interrupted the robbers.
Wactor initially thought his car was being taken, Joy said. After realizing that was not the case, he asked the men to leave, showing his open hands to indicate he was not a threat. Instead, he was shot at point-blank range, Joy said. A security guard at the bar said he found Joy and Wactor, who were mortally wounded, and called 911.
After the shooting, the suspects fled north on Hope Street in a stolen getaway vehicle described as a black, four-door 2018 Infiniti Q50 with a tan interior, police said.
Thieves target catalytic converters because they contain precious metals, such as rhodium, palladium and platinum. They can be sold for hundreds of dollars to auto parts suppliers or scrap yards, where they can be melted down and the valuable metals extracted.
Catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed in California during the COVID-19 pandemic. That led to new state laws prohibiting recyclers from purchasing the parts from anyone other than the legal owner of the vehicle or a licensed dealer. Penalties have been increased for buyers who fail to certify that a catalytic converter has not been stolen.
