12-01-2022 7:32am

Man Arrested in alleged Instagram Scheme

Anita Johnson-Brown Editor

LOS ANGELES-A male suspect and resident of Los Angeles was taken into custody on 16 felony charges connected to an alleged Instagram scheme, that saw numerous victims burglarized, sexually attacked, and extorted.

Michael Neal Watson Jr. was apprehended in Lancaster on November 8, 2022, and is being held on a $1.7 million bond following a months-long manhunt.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau stated they believe the defendant was entangled in at least 13 separate incidents, four of which were with children, since June 2020. LASD also thinks that

Watson was committing these offenses in other jurisdictions throughout the Los Angeles County region, citing incidents transpiring in the cities of Inglewood, Walnut, and West Hollywood.

“During our investigation, it was determined that this person, Mr. Watson, … was using social media. His platform of choice was Instagram and Snapchat,” LASD Sgt. Joe Ramos said in a press conference Wednesday, November 30, 2022. “He was very savvy to lure the victims in meeting them.”

Detectives also believe that Watson would take the alleged victim's cell phones and pretend to be the victim to schedule meetings with their contacts and sexually attack them.

“Every time he left a scene of an incident, he took the victim's cell phones at pistol point, forced them to give up their user name and password and it just spiraled to additional victims,” Ramos said. ”

Sgt. Joe Ramos characterized Watson as “elusive,” saying that the suspect appeared to comprehend he was being investigated and evaded attempts by bureau officials to serve warrants for his capture.

Detectives released pictures of Watson in an attempt to locate more victims he may have come into contact with.

The defendant is scheduled to appear in court on January 12, 2023, in the city of Compton.

Written by Anita Johnson-Brown