Police have arrested two men in the Friday killing of a 40-year-old Pontiac man who often posed as a minor on social media in attempts to catch sexual predators.
Robert Wayne Lee, who ran a popular Facebook page with 11,000 followers using the moniker “Boopac Shakur,” confronted two males, ages 17 and 18, seated in a Pontiac restaurant near the corner of North Perry and MLK Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s office.
Lee accused one of the men of being a pedophile and punched him, causing the man to pull out a knife and the other man to produce a firearm, which he used to shoot Lee several times before the two fled the restaurant, police said.
Lee was taken to a hospital where he later died.
The two suspects were arrested early Saturday afternoon in Pontiac, according to a news release from Oakland County Sheriff’s office. The suspected shooter is 17. Both suspects are believed to be from Pontiac, police said.
Detectives were expected to turn the case over to prosecutors for potential charges on Sunday or Monday.
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Police said Lee’s running ruse, posing as a 15-year-old girl online, was at times successful, but also resulted in false accusations.
“His one-man crusade has led to the arrest and criminal charges being filed against several men,” the sheriff’s office said in its news release. “He has also mistakenly identified someone as a sexual predator who was not.”
“While we certainly understand his desire to hold child predators accountable, many times well intentioned individuals who engaged in this don’t know the standard of evidence required for convictions and often underestimate the potential for violence confronting a suspected predator,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard. “They feel trapped and often lash out violently. When we have arrested predators in such circumstances, they have rammed police cars and exhibited other violent behavior in attempts to escape.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ‘Boopac Shakur’ shooting suspects arrested in Pontiac