Suspect pleads guilty in connection with death of ‘General Hospital’ actor Johnny Wactor
(LOS ANGELES) — One of the four suspects charged in connection to the shooting death of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor has pleaded guilty, a spokesperson for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s office told ABC News.
Leonel Gutierrez, 18, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of attempted robbery and grand theft. He was not alleged to have been the one who actually shot Wactor.
He was released on $120,000 bond, and is expected to be sentenced Nov. 1.
Ahead of sentencing, the court will hear victim impact statements, the district attorney’s office said.
Gutierrez could face up to four years and eight months in prison.
Wactor, 37, was fatally shot “without provocation” in the early morning hours of May 25, after he ended his shift at a bar and was walking to his car, according to police. Police said the suspects had his car “raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter.”
Just before he was shot, Wactor had been with a female co-worker, and he immediately stepped in front of her to try to protect her, according to his family and friends.
“They had a mask on and they pulled out a gun,” Wactor’s friend, Colin Flynn, previously 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.”
Gutierrez, along with three other suspects, were charged in August in connection to Wactor’s death. Two of the suspects were charged with murder and could face life in prison if convicted.
At a news conference where the charges were announced, Gascón said he was “committed to seeking justice for Mr. Wactor and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”
“The loss of this talented young actor, who was in the prime of his life and had so much to offer the world, is deeply felt by all of us,” Gascón said. “Mr. Wactor’s work and presence touched the lives of many, and our hearts go out to his family, friends and the entire community who mourn this devastating loss.”
All four suspects have “very lengthy criminal records” and were allegedly affiliated with a gang, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ryan Rabbett said at the press conference.
(KANNAPOLIS, N.C.) — Escaped murderer Ramone Alston, who escaped from custody Tuesday morning while being transported to a medical appointment at a North Carolina hospital, has been caught, authorities said.
Ramone Alston was captured shortly before 2 a.m. Friday morning at a hotel on Cloverleaf Parkway in Kannapolis, North Carolina, following an operation involving FBI Charlotte SWAT agents, Kannapolis Police and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
Shortly after, Jacobia Crisp, a female acquaintance, was arrested in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive, officials said.
Alston will be charged with felony escape from prison and is being taken to a high security unit in the state prison system where he will resume serving his life sentence for first degree murder and will await court appearances for his escape charges.
Alston was convicted of shooting and killing a 1-year-old girl on Christmas Day in 2015 and is serving a life sentence.
The infant victim, Maleah Williams, had been playing outside with her Christmas toys when she was struck by gunfire, her mother previously told Raleigh ABC station WTVD.
Alston, 30, broke away from a corrections officer while being escorted to UNC Hospital in Hillsborough on Tuesday, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
“He had freed himself from leg restraints and, still in handcuffs, jumped out and ran into adjacent woods,” the department said in a statement.
Director of Orange County Emergency Services Kirby Saunders said state, local and federal law enforcement teams searched hundreds of acres for Alston, using aerial assets including helicopters, canine resources and ground searchers.
“He’s unpredictable — we don’t know what he’s going to do, so he should certainly probably be considered dangerous,” Keith Acree, a spokesperson for the Department of Adult Correction, said in a press briefing earlier this week. “People make rash decisions at a time like this; he’s already made one very large rash decision this morning.”
Alston was taken into custody without injuries to anyone.
“I am grateful to our DAC staff and thankful for the support and effort from hundreds of local, state and federal public safety officers who helped in the search and investigation that returned Alston safely to custody,” said Todd Ishee, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. “This was an incredible collaborative effort of many people and agencies.”
ABC News’ Jason Volack and Julia Reinstein contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A Staten Island man who ran a large-scale marijuana smuggling operation and whose 10-year federal prison sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump has been arrested for domestic assault in Atlantic Beach.
Jonathan Braun, 41, is charged with punching his father-in-law Tuesday after the elderly man came to the assistance of Braun’s wife, whom he was chasing after an argument, according to prosecutors.
Braun pleaded not guilty. The judge released him on his own recognizance over the objection of the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, which requested bail.
At the time Trump granted Braun clemency, on his last day in office, the White House said Braun “will seek employment to support his wife and children.” Braun has assaulted his wife numerous times since his release, according to court records.
Braun also has a history of violence and threats.
At the time of his clemency, Braun still faced investigations related to his role in an operation that made predatory loans to small-business owners.
According to a lawsuit by the New York attorney general’s office, Braun called business owners and insulted, swore at and bullied them, demanding payment and making threats.
“You have no idea what I’m going to do,” the lawsuit quoted Braun as allegedly saying. “I will take your daughters from you.”
Braun also threatened that he would come to one merchant’s synagogue in Brooklyn and physically beat him and “publicly embarrass him,” stating, “I am going to make you bleed.”
He threatened another, “Be thankful you’re not in New York, because your family would find you floating in the Hudson,” according to the lawsuit.
Braun was granted clemency, along with dozens of others, on Jan. 19, 2021, his last day in office before Joe Biden took over as president.
(OCALA, Fla.) — The prosecutor and defense attorney delivered opening remarks Tuesday in the trial of Susan Lorincz – the Florida woman charged in the fatal shooting of her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door – after a six-person jury was seated on Monday afternoon.
According to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Lorincz shot Owens, a Black mother of four, through a closed door in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after Owens went to speak with Lorincz about a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home. Lorincz called 911 after fatally shooting Owens and admitted to the shooting.
Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with first-degree felony manslaughter for fatally shooting Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida. She pleaded not guilty on July 10, 2023, and was held on a $150,000 bond. If convicted, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Ajike Owens’ mother, 10-year-old son share their grief journey on ‘The View’
Anthony Thomas, attorney for the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement Tuesday that the family is “disappointed in the all-white jury that was selected to determine the outcome” of this case.
“We would have wanted the jury to be more diverse. But we believe in equal justice, so we are going to see what happens,” added family attorney Ben Crump in a statement to ABC News.
“I am keeping faith that justice will be served for my daughter, Ajike, that the jurors will not let Susan Lorincz get away with this,” Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, told ABC News.
During opening arguments, public defender Morris Carranza argued that Lorincz was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life, while Assistant State Attorney Adam Smith stressed that Owens was “unarmed” and fatally shot through a “locked” door. Carranza claimed that Owens told Lorincz that she was going to “kill” her, while Smith told jurors that they will be hearing from witnesses who were present during the confrontation who will deny this claim.
“The death of AJ Owens is a tragedy. There is no doubt about that, but what the evidence will show is that in her mind, in her soul, in her core, Susan Lorincz felt she had no choice,” Lorincz’s defense attorney said. “It was either Susan or AJ. Susan chose to defend herself.”
Lorincz’s attorney focused on the age difference between the 59-year-old Lorincz and the 35-year-old Owens, highlighted Lorincz’s health issues and also played for jurors Lorincz’s distressed 911 call on June 2, 2023, where she claimed that Owens tried to “break down” her door and admitted to shooting at the door.
“You can hear the absolute terror that she had,” Lorincz’s attorney said, referring to the 911 call.
New video shows interrogation of Florida woman accused of fatally shooting neighbor
Meanwhile, Smith disputed the claim that Owens was trying to “break” into Lorincz’s home and stressed that Owens, who approached Lorincz’s home to talk to her about the dispute with her children, was “unarmed” and was fatally shot through a “locked” front door after Lorincz called police to come to her home.
Smith argued that Owens “doesn’t try to break into” Lorincz’s home and was shot while she was “unarmed.”
“At the end of this case, you’re going to hear that the defendant Susan Lorincz, knowing the police would come, was in her apartment with her door locked and shot through that locked front door and killed Ajike Owens, who was unarmed,” Smith said.
“After the evidence is presented, we’re going to come back to you and ask that you find the defendant guilty,” he added.
Lorincz claimed in her June 6, 2023, interrogation interview with detectives – video of which was released by MCSO – that she was acting in self-defense when she shot Owens.
“She was saying, ‘I’m going to kill you,'” Lorincz claimed in the video.
“No one that we’ve interviewed so far has made any statements about her saying that she wanted to kill you,” one of the detectives told Lorincz.
Anthony Thomas, an attorney representing the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement on Monday that two of Owens’ four children will be called to testify during the trial and are “determined to testify” on their mother’s behalf “despite their grief.”
“Unfortunately, yes, we have confirmed that they will be called to testify. This is an unimaginably painful experience for them, as they continue to grapple with the deep emotional wounds caused by losing their mother in such a violent way,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, Isaac, 13, and Izzy (Israel), 10, who witnessed the shooting, could be called by prosecutors and the defense to testify this week.
“They do this out of profound love and respect for her, knowing that their voices are crucial in the pursuit of justice,” Thomas said. “They understand the gravity of this moment and want to ensure that their mother’s death is not in vain.”
Judge Robert W. Hodges of Florida 5th Judicial Circuit, who is presiding over the case, said that the trial is expected to conclude by Friday.