Four suspects arrested in connection with fatal shooting of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor

Four people have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, police said Thursday. The actor was gunned down in May after preventing the theft of a catalytic converter, according to authorities.

In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department identified three suspects arrested on suspicion of murder – Robert Barceleau, 18; Leonel Guiterrez, 18; and Sergio Estrada, 18.

Police said 22-year-old Frank Olano is accused of aiding and abetting the crime.

The arrests came after the agency's homicide unit obtained search warrants at various locations in Los Angeles, leading to the four arrests and the seizure of evidence, the statement said.

Jail records show bail for the four suspects was set at $2 million. It was not clear if they have lawyers representing them.

Further details about the arrests or evidence were not immediately available.

In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked the agency and said authorities must ensure that those responsible for “this brazen and heinous act are held fully accountable.”

Wactor, 37, was shot and killed on the night of May 25 after he finished a shift as a bartender in downtown Los Angeles and found three men lifting his car with a jack and in the process of stealing the vehicle's catalytic converter, police previously said.

One of the suspected thieves shot Wactor without provocation, the department said.

A friend and co-worker who was with him at the time said that when they first approached the car, it looked like it might be being towed.

“We were not a threat and Jonny remained calm as always. He just said it was his car and to go away. His hands were spread out at his sides in peace,” girlfriend Anita Joy wrote on Instagram a few days after the murder.

“When I heard the gunshot that night, he fell back into my arms with full force and as I reached for him, I shouted, 'Honey, are you OK?!' And he just replied, 'Nope! Gunshot!'” she wrote.

The suspects fled in a dark-colored sedan, police said. Wactor was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Wactor, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, played Brando Corbin on the long-running soap opera and appeared in 163 episodes of the show. After his death, his manager remembered him as a “kind soul, talented actor and inspiration to those around him.”

Thieves target catalytic converters to buy their precious metals. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, thefts of this part peaked in 2022, the same year California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law to combat this crime.