Boopac Shakur: Fatal Shooting, Teen’s Charges, and Methods

Robert Wayne Lee II, the 40-year-old Pontiac, Michigan, man known online as “Boopac Shakur,” was fatally shot on September 29, 2023, inside the Universal Coney Island restaurant in Pontiac. A 16-year-old fired the rounds that killed him and was charged with homicide nearly five months later. Despite early speculation, investigators concluded the Boopac Shakur shooting was not connected to one of the predator-catching confrontations that had made him a social media figure with more than 60,000 followers.¹

What Happened Inside the Restaurant

Lee’s mother later said he frequented the Universal Coney Island for its grilled chicken salads.² On the night of September 29, 2023, a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old were seated together in a booth when Lee walked in.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Lee approached the 18-year-old, accused him of being a pedophile, and punched him. The 18-year-old pulled a knife. The 16-year-old then drew a semi-automatic handgun from his waistband and fired multiple rounds at Lee.³ Both teenagers fled. Lee was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries. The two were arrested the following day, September 30, 2023.⁴

Not a Sting Operation

Initial reports, including early statements from the sheriff’s office, suggested the encounter was one of Lee’s predator-catching confrontations gone wrong. That account did not hold up. Within days, Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters, “As we get deeper in the investigation, we have yet to find any corroborative information on that point.” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald was more direct: “There is no evidence that the confrontation on September 29th was a planned meeting, or that it was part of any sting operation.”⁵

Two associates who had worked with Lee on past catches said the same. Cody Fendant called the shooting a “freak occurrence” and said Lee was not there for a sting. Jordan Jones, who said he and Lee had conducted more than 40 catches together, told NBC News they had never been confronted with a gun or knife during their operations.⁶

Charges Against the Teen Shooter

No charges were filed immediately in Lee’s death. In early October 2023, McDonald’s office told reporters “no charges have been authorized” while the investigation continued.⁵ On February 22, 2024, McDonald filed charges against the younger suspect, now 17, in connection with Lee’s death:

Homicide, carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or a $7,500 fine.
Carrying a concealed weapon, up to 5 years in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
Felony firearm, a mandatory two-year prison sentence served consecutively with any other sentence.⁷

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. The vast majority of gun violence deaths, including this one, are preventable.”³

The teenager was already in custody when the homicide charges were filed. He had been jailed since shortly after Lee’s death on separate charges of assault with intent to murder and felony firearm, stemming from a non-fatal shooting outside a Pontiac supermarket on September 20, 2023, nine days before Lee was killed. Surveillance footage from that earlier incident reportedly showed the defendant exiting a vehicle and shooting at one of two people fighting in a parking lot.⁸ Trial on the September 20 charges began on February 22, 2024, before Oakland County Circuit Court Family Division Judge Kameshia D. Gant.⁹

In both cases, the prosecutor’s office requested “designation,” a mechanism that allows a juvenile to be tried as an adult while leaving the judge discretion to impose a juvenile sentence, an adult sentence, or a blended sentence combining juvenile rehabilitation with adult punishment.⁷ Reporting confirmed the 18-year-old was arrested alongside the younger suspect, but no charges against him in connection with Lee’s shooting were reported.¹⁰

Who Boopac Shakur Was

Lee operated under the name “Boopac Shakur” on Instagram and Facebook, with a combined following of more than 60,000 people.¹ He and his associates posed online as a 15-year-old girl to start conversations with adults they suspected of seeking sexual contact with minors. When a target agreed to meet, Lee would show up in person, confront the individual on camera, and post the video.¹¹ He sometimes forwarded material to police but was not affiliated with any law enforcement agency.

Lee described himself as a “vigilante doing police work without a badge” and said his three children inspired him.¹¹ An online fundraiser started after his death claimed he had exposed 132 predators, though the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said it could not confirm that figure.¹ One documented result was the arrest of Jared Salisbury, a probationary Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy, in September 2022; Salisbury was fired and charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes, a four-year felony, after a resident reported a social media post in which he appeared to arrange a meeting with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.¹²

Concerns Raised About His Methods

Local officials were sharply critical of Lee’s activities before his death. Sheriff Bouchard called the work a “one-man crusade” that was “dangerous,” and said some of Lee’s evidence would not be admissible in court because it was not gathered by law enforcement.¹³ Bouchard also acknowledged that Lee had “mistakenly identified someone as a sexual predator who was not.”¹

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office said Lee’s tactics had in some instances hampered official investigations and led to the dismissal of cases against actual targets. Lee himself had been investigated and charged with crimes in at least two incidents for destroying property belonging to people who were not the subjects of his operations.⁵

1
NBC News. Boopac Shakur Outed Pedophiles Online Before Being Fatally Shot at Restaurant
2
WXYZ Detroit. Mother of Boopac Shakur Talks About His Mission to Expose Suspected Child Predators, Concern for His Safety
3
CBS News Detroit. Teen Charged With Homicide of Boopac Shakur
4
CNN. Boopac Shakur Dead: Robert Lee
5
NBC News. Boopac Shakur Was Not Fatally Shot Accusing Someone of Pedophilia
6
NBC News. Boopac Shakur Never Faced Gun Catching Predators, Associates Say
7
Oakland County. Teen Charged in Death of Robert Wayne Lee II
8
Oakland County. Teen Charged in Death of Robert Wayne Lee II
9
The Oakland Press. Teen Charged With Homicide in Slaying of Boopac Shakur
10
CityNews Halifax. Teen Charged in Fatal Shooting of Detroit Area Man Who Sought to Expose Sexual Predators
11
The Guardian. Boopac Shakur Killed: Robert Wayne Lee
12
CBS News Detroit. Fired Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Arraigned After Attempting to Solicit a Minor
13
FOX 2 Detroit. Pontiac Vigilante Boopac Shakur Not Killed by Alleged Predator, Sheriff Says