Searches at the homes of gang members charged with murder in the shooting death of actor Johnny Wactor have uncovered evidence linking them to robberies in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and the Inland Empire, the acting chief of the Los Angeles Police Department said.
While serving search warrants in the arrest of four men connected to Wactor’s May 25 murder, the LAPD’s organized retail task force and Central Bureau Homicide Division found evidence related to a series of robberies at pharmacies and retail stores, interim Police Chief Dominic Choi told the Police Commission Tuesday.
The evidence is linked to robberies in Los Angeles, the unincorporated Lennox area, Beverly Hills, Rialto and Ontario, Choi said. The chief said more than 50 search warrants were carried out in the Wactor case, culminating in the arrests of four men with known associations to a notorious South Los Angeles street gang.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Monday charged Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, with murder in Wactor’s death. Authorities say Barceleau shot the “General Hospital” actor after he confronted him, Estrada and a third man, Leonel Gutierrez, as the trio jacked his car to steal its catalytic converter.
Wactor and a co-worker had just finished their shifts at the Level 8 bar when they encountered the three men and thought they were about to tow the actor’s vehicle. But when they realized they had interrupted a robbery in progress, Wactor tried to defuse the situation, asking the men to leave and showing his open hands to indicate he was not a threat. Instead, he was shot at point-blank range, co-worker Anita Joy said. A security guard at the bar said he found Joy and a mortally wounded Wactor and called 911.
Johnny Wactor was shot and killed after interrupting men trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car on May 25, authorities said.
(Willy Sanjuan/Invision/Associated Press)
Police launched an extensive search for suspects in the fatal shooting, ultimately focusing on gang members linked to catalytic converter thefts in the region. Witnesses said one of the men had a distinctive tattoo of the letter “F” on his face, which police linked to the Florencia 13 gang.
Barceleau, Estrada and Gutierrez, also 18, were arrested after police said their fingerprints matched those taken from a hydraulic jack used to try to steal Wactor's catalytic converter. All three were arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder; a fourth man, Frank Olano, 22, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.
According to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, Barceleau and Estrada made incriminating statements about their roles in the killing while in jail after their arrests.
On Monday, the two were charged with murder in Wactor’s death, while Gutierrez and Olano were charged with lesser offenses. Neither Gascon nor Choi would discuss evidence in the case, including statements made by the defendants. All four appeared in a downtown courtroom on Monday and were awaiting their hearing.
Barceleau, also known as “Smallz,” was charged with murder with special circumstances during an attempted robbery with personal use of a firearm, attempted robbery, grand larceny and aggravated circumstances of use of a firearm. If convicted, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Estrada, alias “Prieto,” was charged with murder with the use of a firearm, attempted robbery and grand theft with a firearm.
Gutierrez, or “Tripps,” was charged with attempted robbery and grand larceny with allegations that one of the suspects was armed with a firearm.
Olano was charged with one count of accessory to murder, one count of receiving stolen property and three counts of being a felon with a firearm.
Barceleau is being held without bail and Estrada is being held on $2.07 million bail. Olano's bail was set at $1.08 million and Gutierrez's at $120,000.
