Suspect pleads guilty in connection with death of ‘General Hospital’ actor Johnny Wactor
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(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.
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(HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA) — Police in Canada said Tuesday they are investigating after a 19-year-old Walmart employee was found dead inside a store’s walk-in bakery oven.
Officers responded to the Walmart — located in Halifax, Nova Scotia — on Saturday night after the employee was found dead, police said.
“The woman, who was an employee of the store, was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department,” Halifax Regional Police said in an update on Tuesday.
Investigators are working with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, police said.
The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined as of Tuesday, police said, calling the investigation “complex.”
“An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time,” police said.
The Walmart store is temporarily closed amid the investigation, according to ABC News partner CTV News.
“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family,” Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said in a statement to CTV News. “We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them.”
Walmart is offering employees on-site support, including grief counseling, as well as access to virtual care, Moss said.
The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration said a stop work order was issued Tuesday for the bakery and a piece of equipment at the Walmart store.
“As this is an active investigation, we cannot release further details at this time,” the department said in a statement, adding workplace investigations “are complex and can take time.”
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — The judge overseeing the federal trial of three ex-Memphis police officers charged in connection with the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols told the jury on Wednesday to disregard the emotional part of the previous day’s testimony from a former officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to Nichols’ death.
Judge Mark Norris was referring to Desmond Mills Jr.’s statements on the witness stand Tuesday as he described how he felt when watching the police body camera footage from the night of Nichols’ beating, according to WATN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.
“I wish I would’ve stopped the punches. It hurts to watch. It hurts inside so much,” said Desmond Mills Jr., who cried during his testimony, according to WATN. “It felt bad every time the picture is on the screen to know I’m a part of that. I made his child fatherless. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know ‘sorry’ won’t bring him back, but I pray his child has everything he needs growing up.”
Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mills and Emmitt Martin III, the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.
“We’re praying for everyone involved,” Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Nichols’ family, said during a prayer vigil Wednesday morning outside the courthouse when asked for his response regarding Mills’ emotional testimony.
Crump said this trial was one of the most emotional trials he has ever attended, a sentiment shared by Antonio Romanucci, his co-counsel.
“In my career, which is now over 40 years,” Romanucci said, “I have never seen such testimony as I did yesterday — police officer who had such contrition. [Former] Officer Mills, without knowing it, just talked about why we’re here, and that’s for accountability.”
The prosecution told ABC News earlier this month that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Within the courtroom, defense attorneys cross-examined Mills regarding the use of his baton on Nichols, which Mills said on Tuesday he used to hit Nichols three times the night of their encounter, according to WATN.
Mills claimed that he didn’t use the baton to hit Nichols in the head, but admitted that he used it improperly since it’s only meant to be used in self-defense, according to WATN. He said it was the first time he ever used his baton or used excessive force on a suspect.
Mills noted that the use of his baton was not because verbal commands weren’t working on Nichols when asked by the defense, according to WATN.
Mills reiterated his testimony from Tuesday that he was angry and he sprayed himself with pepper spray, and therefore used excessive force on Nichols, according to WATN.
“I was angry because I just [pepper] sprayed myself in the face,” Mills said on Tuesday, according to WATN. “I didn’t give him a chance to give me his hands.”
Mills disagreed with Bean’s attorney when he asked Mills if he was the only one who could intervene to stop the beating, since Mills didn’t have his hands on Nichols that night, according to WATN. The ex-officer claimed that the other officers could have moved Nichols away from the strikes and punches while they held his hands.
Mills admitted to the defense that the reason he changed his statement about what happened that night was because he took a plea deal from prosecutors, according to WATN. He said he lied in earlier statements.
Mills told prosecutors that when he told Lt. Dewayne Smith, his former supervisor, that the arrest was done “by the book,” he only said that to hide what really happened, according to WATN. The ex-officer claimed that there was a mutual understanding that their off-camera conversations would go unreported.
“I needed this job for my wife and kids,” Mills said when the prosecution asked why he was not initially truthful about the encounter. “This job has good insurance. I have children with special needs. I needed this job for my family. I let them down.”
Mills was asked about response to resistance forms from the incident, stating they weren’t accurate and that Nichols, “was not aggressive at all,” according to WATN.
Mills said that Haley asked him if Mills’ body camera captured him during the encounter with Nichols.
“I hope I’m not on there,” Mills said Haley told him.
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him.
Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
“I was going along, either way, [with] the cover-up,” Mills said. “Hoping for the best that Mr. Nichols would survive and this whole thing would blow over.”
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
“As an officer, I respond to scenes where the victim looks like Mr. Nichols [did after he was beaten],” Mills said. “This was the first time I was a part of it.”
(Delphi, IND) — No DNA was found at the site of the Delphi, Indiana, double murders to tie the suspect, Richard Allen, or anyone else to the crime scene, a forensic scientist testified Monday during Allen’s trial.
Best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were walking along a hiking trail in rural Delphi when they were stabbed to death and left in the woods on Feb. 13, 2017. Allen was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Rape kits were performed on Abby and Libby; no semen was found and there was no DNA evidence the girls were sexually assaulted, Indiana State Police forensic scientist Stacy Bozinovski said on the stand Monday.
Some swabs showed a possible presence of male DNA, Bozinovski said, but the amount was insufficient, and she told the court she didn’t do a confirmatory test because she wanted to make the most of the sample.
Bozinovski noted that she did find male DNA in genital swabs and fingernails, but she said that is not entirely unusual because it could have come from shared clothing. She said it yielded very little DNA.
Bozinovski said hair found in Abby’s hand matched Libby’s sister.
According to police analysis, a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies came from Allen’s gun.
Bozinovski said she tested the unspent round found at the crime scene, but the DNA found on the cartridge was insufficient for further testing.
Allen has admitted to being on the trail the day the girls were killed but he denies any involvement in the murders.
