By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH
Two 18-year-old men were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in last year’s killing of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor as he came upon a group of people trying to steal the catalytic converter from his parked car in downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo said there was “sufficient evidence” after a nearly two-day hearing to allow the case against Robert Isaiah Barceleau and Sergio Estrada to proceed to trial on one count each of murder, attempted second-degree robbery and grand theft.
The judge denied a motion by defense attorneys to dismiss the entire case, saying that it will be up to a jury to decide certain factual issues.
The murder and attempted second-degree robbery charges stem from the May 25, 2024, attack on the 37-year-old actor, while the grand theft count involves the alleged removal of a catalytic converter from another vehicle within two miles and less than a half-hour before Wactor’s killing.
Barceleau is also facing a special-circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, along with allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury and death to Wactor.
Barceleau and Estrada are also facing allegations filed last month that the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, while Estrada is facing an allegation that someone involved in the crime personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury and death.
In testimony Monday, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Justin Howarth testified that Barceleau said during a conversation with an undercover jailhouse operative shortly after being arrested last Aug. 15 that he had “shot Wactor once,”
Barceleau told the undercover operative that he had fired because Wactor was “going after the homie,” referring to an alleged accomplice, the detective said.
In a separate jailhouse sting, Estrada told an undercover jailhouse operative that he yelled “No” when he saw Barceleau pull out a gun, Howarth testified.
Estrada described Barceleau as being “hot-headed” and said he didn’t want to go with him that night, according to the detective. Estrada also told the undercover operative that Wactor had “rushed” him and that he wasn’t concerned about a female witness being able to identify him because they were wearing masks, the detective said.
Both men were photographed — with Barceleau holding a semi-automatic weapon and Estrada holding a stack of cash — about five hours after the killing, Howarth testified.
Two other defendants pleaded guilty or no contest last year to less serious charges.
Leonel Gutierrez, now 19, remains free on bond while awaiting sentencing Jan. 15 in connection with his plea to one count each of attempted robbery and grand theft.
It will be up to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kerry L. White to determine the sentence for Gutierrez, who entered the plea without any agreement with prosecutors about his sentence. He is facing a maximum of four years and eight months in state prison.
Frank Olano, 22, is set to be sentenced Jan. 15 by Olmedo as a result of his plea last October to one count each of being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property and three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court records. It was not immediately clear what his maximum sentence could be.
Olano said during a separate jailhouse investigation last August that he had obtained six catalytic converters from the suspects on the day Wactor was killed, according to Howarth.
At Monday’s hearing, a forensic print specialist from the LAPD testified that fingerprints found on a floor jack that had been used in the effort to steal Wactor’s catalytic converter and left at the scene were matched to Barceleau, Estrada and Gutierrez.
Under cross-examination by Estrada’s attorney, another forensic print specialist said that it couldn’t be determined when the fingerprints were left on the jack. She acknowledged that they could be on an item for a year.
Another LAPD homicide detective, Keith Gonzales, testified that investigators found the floor jack next to the driver’s side door of Wactor’s black 2013 Toyota Prius near Hope Street and Pico Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.
Wactor was shot shortly before 3:30 a.m. last May 25 while walking with a co-worker toward his parked car after finishing his bartending shift at the Level 8 bar/restaurant.
One of Wactor’s co-workers told police that they spotted his vehicle and believed it was being towed, but that she then saw someone crouched down next to the jack and unsuccessfully tried to surreptitiously take a photo of the vehicle double-parked next to Wactor’s Prius, according to Gonzales.
She said Wactor took two to three steps toward the suspects, said that was his car and asked what they were doing, according to the detective.
“She said she heard a loud snap,” Gonzales testified, noting that the woman said Wactor fell back toward her and told her, “I’ve been shot.”
Barceleau, Estrada, Gutierrez and Olano were arrested last August in a series of raids carried out by Los Angeles police.
The LAPD had previously released surveillance photos of the suspects believed to have killed Wactor, along with images of an allegedly stolen 2018 black, four-door Infiniti Q50 in which the suspects were believed to have escaped by driving northbound on Hope Street.
Wactor’s slaying occurred less than two miles away from a location where video cameras monitored by USC’s Department of Public Safety captured what authorities believe was three men involved in the theft of a catalytic converter from a Honda Accord about 22 minutes before the victim’s co-worker called 911 about the shooting, according to testimony presented at the hearing Monday. Authorities have not been able to find the Honda or determine who owned it.
Wactor was taken to California Hospital and pronounced dead at 3:39 a.m. that day from a gunshot wound to the chest.
The actor had appeared in nearly 200 episodes of “General Hospital” from 2020-22. His other credits included “Westworld,” “The OA,” “NCIS,” “Station 19,” “Criminal Minds” and “Hollywood Girl.”
Wactor’s mother, Scarlett, who attended the hearing with other family members and friends, said Monday afternoon that her son’s life was taken “for a catalytic converter.” She said she believes that “the evidence looks really strong,” and said she feels “very confident.”
Barceleau and Estrada are due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment Jan. 22.
