PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac man who was known to use social media to pose as an underage girl to catch sexual predators was shot and killed during an argument with another man.
Update: Teen charged with homicide of Pontiac man known for exposing alleged sexual predators
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said that Robert Wayne Lee, 40, was in a restaurant in Pontiac near the corner of North Perry Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, when he confronted two men.
Lee accused one of the men of being a pedophile and punched him. The man pulled out a knife and the second man pulled out a gun and shot Lee several times. The two men fled the restaurant and a K9 search was unsuccessful. Lee was transported to a hospital where he died from his injuries.
Lee went by the name “Boopac Shakur” on social media. He posed as a 15-year-old girl online and “his one-man crusade has led to the arrest and criminal charges being filed against several men,” according to the sheriff’s office. Officials said that he had 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,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “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.”
Two people have been taken into custody in this case.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.
---> Deputy fired for trying to solicit sex from minor in Oakland County