A man who prosecutors say was with two other gang members at the time they killed actor Johnny Wactor has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and grand theft charges.
Leonel Gutierrez, 18, was arrested last month along with two other people on suspicion of murder in Wactor’s May 25 shooting death after a lengthy investigation by Los Angeles police turned up DNA and fingerprints on a car jack that linked them to the shooting.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón charged Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, with murder in Wactor’s death. Authorities say Barceleau shot the “General Hospital” actor after Wactor confronted him, Estrada and Gutierrez as they jacked up his car to steal its catalytic converter. Guttierez, also known as “Tripps,” was charged only with attempted robbery and grand theft with allegations of a principal armed with a firearm.
Guitterez made an open guilty plea in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, meaning his admission was made without any prior agreement with prosecutors about his potential sentence. When he is sentenced by Judge Kerry L. White on Nov. 1, he could get up to four years and eight months in prison.
Whether Guiterrez will face additional charges remains to be determined. Interim LAPD Chief Dominic Choi has said that searches of the suspects’ homes uncovered evidence tying them to thefts in L.A., Beverly Hills and the Inland Empire.
Wactor’s slaying galvanized calls for justice from his friends and family and shined a light on crime in downtown L.A.
Wactor, who also worked as a bartender, had just finished his shift at the Level 8 bar when he and a colleague came upon the three men and thought they were about to tow the actor’s vehicle. But when they realized they had interrupted a theft in progress, Wactor tried to de-escalate the situation, asking the men to leave and showing his open hands to indicate he wasn’t a threat, according to the colleague, Anita Joy. Nevertheless, he was shot at close range, Joy said. A security guard from the bar said he found Joy and the mortally wounded Wactor and called 911.
Johnny Wactor was shot to death after interrupting men trying to steal his car’s catalytic converter on May 25, authorities say.
(Willy Sanjuan / Invision / Associated Press)
Police launched an extensive search for the suspects, ultimately focusing on gang members tied to catalytic converter thefts in the region. Witnesses said one of the men had a distinct “F” tattoo on his face, which police tied to the Florencia 13 gang.
Barceleau, Estrada and Gutierrez were targeted after police said their fingerprints matched those lifted from a jack used and left behind by the would-be thieves. The three were arrested on suspicion of murder while a fourth man — Frank Olano, 22 — was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.
According to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, Barceleau and Estrada made incriminating statements about their role in the killing in jail after their arrests.
Barceleau, who is also known as “Smallz,” was charged with special circumstances murder during an attempted robbery with personal use of a firearm, attempted robbery, grand theft and aggravated circumstances of using a firearm. If convicted, he faces life without the possibility of parole. Estrada, a.k.a. “Prieto,” was charged with murder with the use of a firearm, attempted robbery and grand theft with a firearm.
Olano was charged with one count of accessory after the fact to murder, one count of receiving stolen property and three counts of being a felon with a firearm.
Barceleau is being held without bail, and Estrada is being held in lieu of $2.07 million bail. Olano’s bail was set at $1.08 million
The LAPD is continuing to investigate the men’s possible links to thefts in Los Angeles, the unincorporated Lennox area, Beverly Hills, Rialto and Ontario, Choi said. The chief said more than 50 search warrants were conducted in Wactor’s case, culminating in the arrests of the four men with known associations to the notorious South Los Angeles street gang.
