Los Angeles prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing actor Johnny Wactor during a catalytic converter theft last year, the LA County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to NBC Los Angeles Monday.
The accused shooter, 18-year-old Robert Isaiah Barceleau of Huntington Park, was charged with murder and the special circumstance allegation of murder in August following the “General Hospital” actor’s May 25 killing.
The killing of the 37-year-old actor also raised the question whether the DA’s office will seek the death penalty after District Attorney Nathan Hochman reinstated the death penalty as an option for “exceedingly rare cases” earlier this year.
But the DA’s office said it decided not to request the death penalty for Barceleau “after careful consideration of all relevant factors.”
“(After) speaking with family members and prosecutors in the case, the District Attorney has decided not to seek the death penalty against defendant Robert Isaiah Barceleau in the 2024 shooting death of Johnny Wactor,” the DA’s office explained its reasoning in a statement to NBC Los Angeles.
Barceleau, who pleaded not guilty, could still face life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted, the DA’s office confirmed.
Barceleau’s co-defendant, Sergio Estrada, also 19, is charged with the same counts, but he is not facing the special circumstance allegation or the allegation of personal discharge of a firearm.
Barceleau and Estrada were scheduled to return to a downtown LA courtroom on Jan. 14 for a pretrial hearing.
Wactor was leaving work at a bar with a co-worker at about 3:30 a.m. May 25 when he encountered a group of men stealing the catalytic converter from his car. One of them shot Wactor without provocation as he approached, police said. Catalytic converters are rich in precious metals that can be resold.
Wactor appeared on nearly 200 episodes of “General Hospital” from 2020-22. His other credits included “Westworld,” “The OA,” “NCIS,” “Station 19,” “Criminal Minds” and “Hollywood Girl.”
During a hearing in January, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Justin Howarth testified that Barceleau said during a conversation with an undercover jailhouse operative shortly after his August 2024 arrest that he had “shot Wactor once.”
Barceleau told the undercover operative 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 testified.
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 said.
Two men charged with lesser crimes in connection with Wactor’s killing were sentenced in January to state prison.
Frank Olano, now 23, was sentenced to the maximum term of five years and eight months behind bars as a result of his no contest plea 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.
Leonel Gutierrez, 19, was sentenced to four years in prison — eight months less than the maximum term — for his guilty plea to one count each of attempted robbery and grand theft.
According to testimony from Howarth, Olano said during a separate jailhouse investigation in August 2024 that he had obtained six catalytic converters from the suspects on the day Wactor was killed.
A forensic print specialist from the LAPD testified during the hearing 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.
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