The founder of the Oklahoma Predator Prevention or OPP and two members are in Oklahoma jails awaiting extradition to Texas.
Image Provided By: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office
The U.S. Marshals arrested Russell Goodwin, Ryan Koch and George Liebsch on Friday on warrants out of McLennan County, Texas. Investigators said the arrests stemmed from an incident where OPP confronted an alleged predator causing him to pass out.
Image Provided By: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office
Image Provided By: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office
Video posted on the OPP website in August showed Goodwin confronting Texas resident Jimmy Mansel on-camera. The McLennan County Sheriff’s Office became involved in the investigation when OPP called 911 for Mansel.
The sheriff’s office said in a press release OPP used an online decoy to lure Mansel. He was accused of sending an explicit photo to the decoy, resulting in his arrest for online solicitation of a minor. The agency also filed felony warrants for Goodwin, Koch and Liebsch.
“The Sheriff’s office, I had a call with them about a week before the arrest happened,” said Haley Parsley, former Oklahoma Watch intern.
Parsley was an intern for News 9’s media partner Oklahoma Watch. Parlsey wrote a story in August about OPP’s aggressive tactics that caught the attention of McLennan County authorities. Investigators obtained video of the group confronting Mansel and based their charges on “escalating the situation to the point Mansel lost consciousness, collapsed and struck his head.”
Also, reminding the public to avoid possibly dangerous vigilante activities.
“One thing that really stuck with me that one sheriff told me, is people who have this accusation made against them sometimes feel like they have nothing left to lose and so that can result in really volatile situations,” said Parsley.
The OPP members face felony charges of unlawful restraint and exposing a victim to substantial risk of serious bodily injury.
Two of the OPP members are in custody in the Cleveland County jail and the third is being held at the Garfield County jail. No word on when they will be moved to Texas.