A Lacey Township man is in jail after a private citizen conducted their own version of "To Catch a Predator."
Phillip Stone, 33, thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl when he went to the Five Guys in Toms River and ordered "her" a chocolate milkshake.
Instead, video uploaded to YouTube by the man really talking to Stone.
Calling himself "Minnow," he runs the YouTube channel Minority vs Predator.
"There's my milkshake," the man says as he sees Stone sitting at a table.
The meeting was set up through the media app Skout, Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer said.
On the video, Minnow reads the texts as he shows screen shots of the conversation.
Then, he videos his meeting with Stone.
Outside the Five Guys, Stone admits to coming there to meet an underage girl, but says that nothing would have happened unless it was consensual.
"I'm not a date rapist," he says.
The video was uploaded Sunday, and sparked an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and Special Victims Unit.
The investigation confirmed that Stone had believed he was talking to a minor when he arranged the meeting with sexual relations as the intent, Billhimer said.
Stone was arrested and taken to the Toms River Police Department for processing on charges of luring and attempted sexual assault.
"Another update," Minnow writes in a comment posted under the video Monday night.
"I left the prosecutor's office an hour ago. I have my statement. He turned himself in and things will be resolved legally. Please refrain from using my real name on this channel, to anyone who came from Facebook. I’d appreciate that. Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood Minnow."
Stone is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Despite the outcome, Billhimer warned residents against such practices.
“As I stated earlier, investigations into criminal activity should be left to law enforcement professionals," he said. "Taking the law into your own hands is dangerous. We are very fortunate that no one got hurt today and we were able to take a child predator off the street.”
