Robert Wayne Lee, also known as Boopac Shakur.Photo:Boopac Shakur/Facebook
Boopac Shakur/Facebook
A Michigan teenager has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a man who was known for exposing alleged sexual predators online.
The victim, Robert Wayne Lee II, a 40-year-old known online as “Boopac Shakur,” was allegedly shot with a semi-automatic gun inside the restaurant Universal Coney Island, the release said.
The boy’s identity has not been released, and if he is convicted, the judge will have the option to either sentence him as an adult, a juvenile or pass down a “blended sentence” of “juvenile rehabilitation and adult punishment,” per the prosecutor’s office.
According to the release, Lee entered the restaurant around 10:30 p.m., as the teen and his 18-year-old friend were already seated inside. Security footage then showed Lee approach the friend, before the younger teen pulled out a gun from his waistband and fired multiple rounds.
The teenagers then fled the restaurant, and Lee eventually died from his injuries at a local hospital, the prosecutor’s office said, also noting that no evidence suggested the altercation between the teenagers and Lee had stemmed from a “sting operation.”
“This is a tragic incident,” prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement.
“A physical altercation turned deadly almost instantly because this individual chose to illegally carry a concealed, deadly weapon, and then to use it,” she added. “The vast majority of gun violence deaths, including this one, are preventable.”
According to theDetroit News, Lee amassed an online following for setting up meetings with adult men as he posed as a teenage girl in hopes of catching pedophiles.
The younger teenager, who has been in custody since the Sept. 29 shooting, faces additional charges in connection with a Sept. 20 shooting outside of a supermarket, including felony firearm and assault with intent to murder.
“This shooting was not immediately reported to law enforcement and was only reported after the mother of the individual who was shot at reported suspicious activity near her home that she believed was related to the shooting and to potential gang activity,” the release noted.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Jackie Lee, the mother of the deceased, spoke with ABC’sWXYZfollowing the shooting last year, when she described her son as “fearless” and “on a mission.”
AGoFundMecampaign set up last year for both Lee’s funeral expenses and to raise money for his daughter Ah’vyana has since brought in $15,000 for the family.
source: people.com
