Two men were charged Monday with the murder of actor Johnny Wactor, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The two defendants, who are believed to have ties to the Florencia 13 street gang, allegedly incriminated themselves during prison discussions in recorded chats.
The actor of the American series General Hospitaldied on May 25 in Los Angeles during an attempted robbery. TMZ reported at the time that the 37-year-old man had been shot in downtown Los Angeles.
Robert Barceleau, 18, is accused of shooting Johnny Wactor. His fingerprints, as well as those of Sergio Estrada and Leonel Gutierrez, matched those found in the victim’s car, according to the search warrant.
Sergio Estrada, 18, was also charged with murder.
For his part, Leonel Gutierrez was charged with attempted robbery in this case. An accomplice, Frank Olano, was arrested for complicity after the murder. They are all allegedly linked to the same street gang.
Caught red-handed
Authorities say the men were jacking up the actor’s car to steal the catalytic converter and he was shot after approaching them.
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 bail was set at $120,000.
Micah Parker, a colleague of the victim, responded outside the courthouse on Monday.
“I don’t think it’s fair that these suspects, whoever killed Johnny, should be allowed to go free again,” he said.
