Los Angeles police reportedly used fingerprints left at the crime scene, to track down four suspects in the May killing of General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor.
The LAPD announced the arrests in a news release on Thursday, Aug. 15, saying the suspects were taken into custody earlier in the day during raids at several locations across Los Angeles County.
Police identified the four as Robert Barceleau, 18; Sergio Estrada, 18; Leonel Gutierrez, 18, and Frank Olano, 22.
The three teens were all booked on suspicion of murder. Olano was booked on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.
Related: LAPD Issues Community Alert on Tattooed Suspect in Killing of Actor Johnny Wactor
Online inmate jail records showed the four suspects are being held on $2 million bail each.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass praised police for closing the case.
“I want to thank LAPD for their partnership and hard work on this case and for their continued efforts to keep Angelenos safe and to bring justice to victims of violence,” Bass said in a statement. “Now, we must ensure that those who are responsible for this brazen and heinous act are held fully accountable.”
Wactor, 37, was shot in the chest just before 3:30 a.m. on May 25, when he approached three men in the process of stealing the catalytic converter from his Toyota Prius, as previously reported. Thieves target converters for the precious metals found inside.
The actor was in downtown L.A. after working a late night shift at Level 8 restaurant and bar, where he picked up work as a bartender between acting jobs. He had just finished work and was walking to his car with a female co-worker when he was shot in the 1200 block of Hope Street.
In a statement shortly after the shooting, police said the suspects had the actor’s car “raised up with a floor jack” when they were confronted.
The actor thought the men were trying to tow his car. Police said one of the suspects shot him without provocation as he approached the group.
Following news of Thursday’s arrests, the Los Angeles Times reported police used fingerprints lifted from the floor jack to identify the three teenage suspects.
The fourth man’s alleged role in the crime was unclear.
Law enforcement sources told the Times “the investigation had focused on Florencia 13 gang members tied to catalytic converter thefts in the region.”
The arrests came after the LAPD issued a community alert on Aug. 4, and included two surveillance photos of the suspects huddled around Wactor’s car.
One image showed three suspects standing between the Prius and the getaway car. The second photo was of the 2018 black, four door, Infiniti Q50 used to flee the scene.
The images were grainy, but police described one of the suspects as having a distinctive tattoo above the left eye and another on the right cheek.
Wactor played “Brando Corbin” on General Hospital from 2020 to 2022. He also had roles on the television series Siberia, The OA, Westworld, Criminal Minds and Station 19.
On June 12, the actor’s friends and family members gathered at the site where he was shot, and called for police to step up efforts to find the gunman.
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