Los Angeles police are serving search warrants, seeking to make arrests Thursday in the slaying of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, law enforcement sources said.
The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the pending cases, said the investigation is focusing on Florencia 13 gang members tied to catalytic converter thefts in the region.
After reviewing videos and interviewing witnesses, homicide detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department have sought a suspect with distinct facial tattoos, one of three men who authorities say jacked Wactor’s car on Hope Street near Pico Boulevard to steal its catalytic converter before shooting and killing him May 25.
Wactor had finished a shift at the nearby Level 8 bar about 3:20 a.m. when he and co-worker Anita Joy were walking to his car and interrupted the thieves.
Wactor first thought his car was being towed, Joy said. After realizing that wasn’t the case, he asked the men to leave, showing his open hands to indicate he wasn’t a threat. 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.
After the shooting, the suspects fled north on Hope Street in a stolen getaway car described as a 2018 black four-door Infiniti Q50 with a tan interior, police said.
Thieves target catalytic converters because they contain precious metals, including rhodium, palladium and platinum. They can sell for hundreds of dollars to auto parts suppliers or scrapyards, where they can be melted down and the valuable metals extracted.
Thefts of catalytic converters skyrocketed in California during the COVID-19 pandemic. That prompted new state laws that make it illegal for recyclers to buy the parts from anyone other than the vehicle’s legal owner or a licensed dealer. Penalties were increased for buyers who fail to certify that a catalytic converter wasn’t stolen.