Gascón to announce charges in shooting death of "General Hospital" star Johnny Wactor
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will announce criminal charges in the death of former "General Hospital" actor Johnny Wactor on Monday.
Gascón's office said the charges will be announced during an afternoon press conference, which is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. on August 19th, in front of the Hall of Justice. Such follows four arrests that were made on August 15th in connection with the May shooting death of Wactor.
The suspects have been identified by the LAPD as 18-year-old Robert Barceleau, 18-year-old Leonel Gutierrez, 18-year-old Sergio Estrada and 22-year-old Frank Olano. Barceleau, Gutierrez and Estrada were booked last week for murder. Officers booked Olano as an accessory to the crime. It was not immediately clear whether those same charges and/or other charges will be filed against each. Interim LAPD Chief Dominic Choi will appear alongside Gascón during Monday's press conference.
The 37-year-old Wactor was fatally shot on May 25 in downtown Los Angeles. He had just finished his bartending shift and was walking to his car on Hope Street and Pico Boulevard when he was shot and killed without provocation. The suspects were allegedly attempting to steal his catalytic converter at the time, authorities said. Wactor would have turned 38 years old on August 31st.
Micah Parker, a family spokesperson, said last week that Wactor's mother wants to make sure that "there is a conviction and that that conviction has a penalty that is extremely harsh and sets an example."
"We want to get justice for him but we also we want to use his name and his legacy to make the whole city safer, to make the whole state safer, and basically to make sure that his death is not in vain," Parker said.
Wactor appeared on nearly 200 episodes of the daytime soap opera, General Hospital, as Brando Corbin. He also appeared on shows including "Westworld, "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds."
