Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada were charged with murder in connection with the May 2024 shooting death of actor Johnny Wactor, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. In January 2025, a judge ordered both defendants to stand trial after a preliminary hearing. That decision allowed the case to proceed; it was not a conviction, and the latest case disposition is not established here.
What prosecutors said happened
Wactor, 37, was leaving his bartending job at the Moxy Hotel in downtown Los Angeles at about 3:25 a.m. on May 25, 2024, when he encountered three men suspected of trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in its August 19, 2024 announcement. Authorities said he was shot once in the chest and died at a hospital. The district attorney’s account alleges that Barceleau fired the shot; the allegation has not been established as a finding of guilt.
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Charges against Barceleau and Estrada
The DA’s announcement lists different charges and firearm allegations for the two murder defendants:
| Defendant | Charges and allegations listed by the DA |
|---|---|
| Robert Barceleau | Murder, with a special-circumstance allegation that the murder occurred during an attempted robbery, and personal use of a firearm; attempted robbery and grand theft. |
| Sergio Estrada | Murder, attempted robbery and grand theft, with firearm allegations described in the DA announcement. |
These are accusations, not proof. A special-circumstance allegation is not itself a conviction, and the announced charges do not mean a court has found either man guilty.
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What happened at the preliminary hearing
In January 2025, after a preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered Barceleau and Estrada to stand trial. The Los Angeles Times reported that both had pleaded not guilty and that the judge found the prosecution had met the probable-cause threshold for the case to proceed. The Associated Press also reported their not-guilty pleas. A preliminary-hearing ruling is not a verdict at trial.
Two other defendants were not charged with Wactor’s killing
The DA’s August 2024 announcement said Leonel Gutierrez faced attempted-robbery and grand-theft charges, while Frank Olano faced charges of accessory after the fact, receiving stolen property and being a felon with a firearm. The Associated Press reported in January 2025 that Gutierrez and Olano were sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty to lesser crimes connected to the case. Neither was charged with killing Wactor.
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The latest procedural milestone established by the cited reporting is the January 2025 order sending Barceleau and Estrada to trial. The Los Angeles Superior Court provides online case and calendar lookup services, but no case-specific docket result is established here. Whether the murder case has since gone to trial, been resolved or been rescheduled—and any next hearing date—should not be inferred from the preliminary-hearing order.
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