Arrests have been made in the murder of “General Hospital” star Johnny Wactor.
The LAPD announced late Thursday that the Central Bureau Homicide conducted search warrants relating to Wactor’s case at several locations across Los Angeles, resulting in four people being arrested and evidence recovered.
Three individuals — Robert Barcelau, 18; Leonel Guiterrez, 18; and Sergio Estrada, 18 — were booked on arrest warrants for murder. A fourth person, Frank Olano, 22, was arrested with a warrant as an accessory.
Wactor’s mother Scarlett Wactor also spoke with Fox News Digital about the arrests, saying she will be told more information Monday morning.
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“It’s good news, I”m excited,” she said, noting she is also hoping for serious jail time for the perpetrators. “I know some people don’t even get this far, but I’m very happy,” she added.
Wactor was shot and killed in the early hours of May 25 in downtown Los Angeles while leaving his bartending job with a co-worker.
In a press release obtained by Fox News Digital, the LAPD said Wactor was “confronted by three individuals” after noticing his car had been “raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter.” Wactor was shot and killed by one of the three.
“Los Angeles Police Department, Central Area officers responded to a radio call of an Assault with a Deadly Weapon-Shooting in the 1200 block of Hope Street,” according to the release. “Upon officers’ arrival they discovered the victim, identified as 37-year-old John William Wactor, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Officers began to render aid to the victim and requested the response of emergency medical services.”
Wactor was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
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Scarlett told Fox News Digital that Wactor and a co-worker were asked to stay late at the rooftop bar where they worked and were returning to their cars when he was killed.
“They were walking to their car, and when they get there, Johnny’s car, which was parked in front of the co-worker’s, looked like it was jacked to one side, and from what I understand, he said, ‘Hey, man, you towing my car?’ … And the person looked up and had a mask, and so then I guess he knew they weren’t doing that, and so he stepped in front of the co-worker and then backed up and put his hands up or both, and the person shot him,” Scarlett said.
She noted that the place of employment did not have designated parking for employees.
“In my thought process… if he’d been two minutes earlier or two minutes later, he’d be alive,” Scarlett said.
“And the crazy thing is, he wasn’t trying to stop them from taking it. They could have just left or taken it, he probably would have just given them the car,” she added. “They were very much a coward[ly] person… I hope they catch them, and I hope there’s justice for Johnny. That’s all I can hope and pray for. I will see him again. But down here on Earth, it’s going to be a very, very long road without him for me and his brothers.”
Wactor’s co-worker, Anita Joy, spoke out in the days following his death, sharing the harrowing details of the incident.
“In my thought process… if he’d been two minutes earlier or two minutes later, he’d be alive.”
“I’ve needed to take some time to collect myself and my thoughts. I was with Johnny in his last moments, and I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“He was killed senselessly by a coward who reacted without care of the gorgeous life he was taking,” she wrote in her post. “I’m angry, I’m sad, and I’m all the feelings at once, but above all, I am here for Johnny’s justice.”
“Johnny was between me and the man who shot him,” she continued. “It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it but my god, he fought to stay,” she wrote. “I am utterly heartbroken and so very angry. My only peace is that I was with him and this didn’t happen to him alone – my only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice.”
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Friends and family gathered in Los Angeles on June 12 to hold a press conference and march, seeking answers for Wactor, with the hashtag #JusticeforJohnny.
His brother, Grant Wactor, told the attendees, “We want something to be done. Me and my family, we don’t live here. But Johnny’s friends — Johnny has roots here. Johnny still has roots here and will continue to have roots here. So, we want it to be a safer city for them. … We want it sooner rather than later. We appreciate all the work that’s being done to find and capture all these people, but we hope that any resources that [are] available continue to be [used].”
On Aug. 4, the LAPD released a community alert with photos of the suspects believed to be responsible for Wactor’s death.
Police described the stolen vehicle as a 2018 black four-door Infiniti Q50 with tan interior.
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Following the release of the suspects’ photos, Scarlett and Wactor’s family and friends asked citizens for help in the search at an event held Tuesday.
“I’m asking that anybody that knows anything please come forward,” Scarlett said, according to The Associated Press.
“My only peace is that I was with him and this didn’t happen to him alone – my only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice.”
“It will help me and his brothers in our healing to know that they’ve been captured and convicted.”
“Grief is my constant companion. I can’t wish him happy birthday on Aug. 31. He would have been 38. I can’t ask if he’s coming home for Christmas. I can’t ask how his day went,” she said.
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Wactor portrayed Brando Corbin on “General Hospital” for 164 episodes from 2020-22. His other credits included “Animal Kingdom,” “Criminal Minds” and “Westworld.”
A funeral was held for Wactor at the Summerville Baptist Church in Summerville, South Carolina, his home state, in June. The service was held by Wactor’s family, including his mother, Scarlett, and his brothers, Grant and Lance.
Scarlett previously told Fox News Digital her son’s death “doesn’t need to be in vain.”
“That whole city needs to change, which I can’t even vote out there or do anything, of course, but just to continually push for that and keep the pressure on as long as it takes for that place to change,” she said from her home in South Carolina.
“I mean, it’s sad, but I’d like for it to be safe for other people that live out there. Nobody else needs to die, even though I know I can’t stop everything. I’d like to see some change be made because of this.”
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