4 arrests in connection with the shooting of “General Hospital” star Johnny Wactor because of the catalytic converter in his car

Four suspects have been charged in connection with the murder of “General Hospital” star Johnny Wactor. Wactor was gunned down in May while obstructing thieves trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

Three of the men, all between 18 and 22 years old, are charged with murder, while the fourth was arrested for aiding and abetting the crime, police said in a press release.

Wactor, 37, was fatally shot in the chest at about 3:25 a.m. on May 25 outside Level 8, a nightclub in downtown Los Angeles where he worked, after catching thieves trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car.

Police said he had just left the rooftop bar with a colleague when he saw three men lifting his car with a jack. One of them shot at him “without provocation,” they added.

He was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The county coroner ruled the death a homicide.

Robert Barceleau, 18, of Huntington Park, Leonel Gutierrez, 18, of Los Angeles County, and Sergio Estrada, 18, of Los Angeles County, were charged with murder after search warrants were executed Thursday that led to their arrests.

Frank Olano, 22, of Inglewood, was charged with aiding and abetting, police said.

No further details about the arrests or evidence seized were released.

According to the Los Angeles Times and TMZ, police were investigating the gang “Florencia 13,” which is linked to catalytic converter thefts in the region.

His killing made national headlines and even prompted a rally of friends and relatives outside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday demanding justice more than two months after the shooting.

“Grief is my constant companion,” his mother Scarlett Wactor told reporters. “I can't wish him a happy birthday on August 31st – he would have turned 38. I can't ask him if he's coming home for Christmas. I can't ask him how his day was.”

“I ask anyone who knows anything to come forward,” she pleaded.

Earlier this month, they asked for the public's help and released surveillance images of the three suspects fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.

The South Carolinian native played the role of Brandon Corbin on the popular TV soap opera from 2020 to 2022. He also appeared on the TV shows “Station 19,” “NCIS” and “Westworld.”

With post wires