A teenager who is tied to the shooting death of Johnny Wactor has pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery and grand theft.
Leonel Gutierrez, 18, one of the four suspects charged in connection to the death of the General Hospital star pleaded guilty to the charges on Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
But he was not alleged to have been the one who shot Wactor, 37.
The teen was released on a $120,000 bond, and is expected to be sentenced on November 1 where he could face up to four years and eight months in prison.
Ahead of his sentencing, the court will hear victim impact statements, according to the district attorney’s office.
A, 18-year-old man who is tied to the shooting death of Johnny Wactor (pictured) has pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery and grand theft
Los Angeles Police Department previously released two images of the suspects and their getaway car (pictured above) while appealing to the public for help identifying them
Gutierrez was arrested last month along with two other people on suspicion of murder in Wactor’s May 25 shooting death after an elaborate investigation by Los Angeles police discovered DNA and fingerprints on a car jack that linked them to the shooting.
LA County District Attorney George Gascon charged Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada, both 18, with murder in Wactor’s death.
Authorities said Barceleau shot the actor after Wactor confronted him and his two companions as they jacked up his car in a bid to steal his catalytic converter.
Frank Olana was also arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.
Guttierez was charged only with attempted robbery and grand theft with allegations of a principal armed with a firearm.
The LAPD previously released two images of the suspects and their getaway car while appealing to the public for help identifying them.
‘Suspect One has a tattoo above the left eye and on the right cheek,’ cops wrote in a community alert early August, noting that the same suspect pulled the trigger on the shot that killed Wactor.
‘Suspect One to Three fled the area in a suspect vehicle, identified as a stolen 2018, black, 4 door, Infiniti Q50, with tan interior.’
On Saturday, May 25 at around 3:25am, Wactor had been leaving his side job at a ‘cathedral style’ nightclub called Sinners y Santos in a notoriously crime-ridden part of Downtown LA with his co-worker, Anita Joy.
They had been walking to their cars when they noticed three masked men near Wactor’s vehicle, which was propped up on a jack.
As they neared the men, the suspects opened fire. One bullet struck Wactor in the chest.
The actor was transported by paramedics to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to police, the three men fled the scene in another vehicle.
Wactor died a hero – with his relatives previously telling DailyMail.com he had positioned himself to shield Joy from the gunfire.
Anita Joy was with Johnny Wactor when he was killed. He allegedly stood in front of Joy to protect her from getting shot
Pictured: Wactor on the set of General Hospital
‘They had a mask on and they pulled out a gun,’ Wactor’s friend, Colin Flynn, told ABC News.
‘And from what I understand, Johnny literally stood in between himself and his colleague. And the shooter just pulled the trigger and ran away.’
Joy took to social media to share his courageous final moments, describing how her friend of eight years ‘fought to stay alive’ before dying in her arms.
‘Everything happened in an instant,’ she wrote of the attack.
‘I’ve come to describe it as a glass of water that gets tipped over and you’re scrambling to grab it and save it from spilling out completely but it just runs through your fingertips and is gone.
‘We cautiously approached the men, questioning what they were doing, at first thinking the car was being towed. We were no threat and Johnny kept his cool as he always did, simply stating that it was his car and for them to leave. Hands open to his sides in peace.’
Joy said after she shooting she asked if he was okay.
He could only respond, ‘Nope! Shot!’
‘It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it. But my God, he fought to stay,’ she wrote.
Joy added that a bouncer from the bar where they worked ran over to help, but it was too late.
She said that she finds solace in the fact that she was with him and that Wactor did not die alone but added that remains ‘heartbroken and so very angry.’
‘My only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice.’
Wactor portrayed Brando Corbin on the ABC soap opera ‘General Hospital’ from 2020 to 2022.
He also appeared in a variety of films and TV series, including ‘Station 19,’ ‘NCIS,’ ‘Westworld’ and the video game ‘Call of Duty: Vanguard.’