“Act Like Cops. Not A Social Media Star Wannabe.” Major Law Enforcement Organization Calls Out Delray Cops, Others Who Use Dustin Lampros’ “561 Predator Catcher” Group.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Delray Beach Police Department, despite being called out by a major law enforcement taskforce, has again made an arrest based on claims of a social media publicity seeker who told cops he conducted his own predator sting in the CVS on 4970 West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.
Dustin Lampros, a 30-year-old man who lives in a townhouse off Military Trail in Delray Beach, is not a cop. But he lures alleged predators to area stores after pretending to be a teenager online, then calls the cops and tells them to arrest the target. It’s unclear why police — usually the Delray Beach Police Department — make the arrest. At least two of the arrests made by Delray cops after tips from Lampros over the past several months are languishing in Palm Beach County court.
As we first reported over the summer, prosecutors — and the law enforcement organization that legitimately coordinates predator stings in Florida — believe Lampros and his private “561 Predator Catcher” group have no business in the law enforcement business. The ICAC, or Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is a coalition of more than 5400 police agencies that follow guidelines, rules, and regulations in the pursuit of predators. The Delray Beach Police Department is scoffed at by the task force’s members.
“As members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,” wrote Sgt. Thomas McInerney of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Strategic Investigations Division, “we are prohibited from working with vigilantes. These online/social media vigilante groups continue to be a problem nationwide and we are seeing more of them popping up here in South Florida.”
The office of Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, while not addressing specific cases, issued this statement to BocaNewsNow.com when we first reported on the vigilante issue.
“We can’t speculate about whether these new cases from Delray Beach (or Boca Raton) will ultimately result in successful prosecutions. As always, we review arrests and evidence from law enforcement on a case by case basis. Generally speaking, we can have successful prosecutions with information supplied by citizens and/or citizen groups. As these are pending cases, we are unable to discuss specifics outside of the courtroom.”
We reported over the summer on the arrests of Oscar Apuli and Christopher Burt. Both were lured to a Walmart in Delray Beach by Dustin Lampros. Both were arrested by the Delray Beach Police Department. We also reported on the case of Carlos Abril. He was lured to the Denny’s in Boca Raton and later arrested by the Boca Raton Police Department. All three cases are set for “disposition” but have notably not led to plea deals as they languish in court. Police have no firsthand proof of the alleged crimes committed. It’s all based on the word of Dustin Lampros.
In the latest case, Henry Rudolph of Delray Beach was lured to an area CVS believing he was meeting a young teen for a physical encounter. Once there, he met Lampros who called Delray Beach police. An officer arrested Rudolph on October 12th. He remains held on $30,000 bond.
“No one wants predators on the street,” said a member of the South Florida law enforcement community who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from Delray Beach and Boca Raton police leadership. “But this is not the way to go about it. The ICAC does amazing work and they do it legally. It says a lot about a police agency when it’s relying on some social media punk who is trying to get hits on Facebook. Cops need to act like cops, not social media star wannabes. These police departments are cutting corners and the end result will almost assuredly be failed prosecutions.”
Delray Beach Police spokesman Ted White told BocaNewsNow.com in our first report on the vigilante issue that his agency does not condone vigilante groups. But his department continues to make arrests based on their actions.
“Like all arrests conducted by the Delray Beach Police Department, our officers and investigators must establish probable cause before effecting an arrest. In the specific incident you’re inquiring about, probable cause was established by our officers or investigators involved. The responding officers are working closely with our investigative unit, which in turn is working closely with the State Attorney’s Office on these cases. The Delray Beach Police Department is in no way affiliated with these groups. We do not approve, condone, encourage, or promote their actions.”
