Warren patrol officers arrested 44-year-old Westland resident Shane Burhans at a local motel on Sunday after responding to assist members of the civilian group Predator Poachers, who had flagged a complaint involving the solicitation of a minor. Burhans, a contracted school janitor who most recently worked evening shifts at Northville High School, now faces six felony charges that carry statutory maximum sentences ranging from four to 20 years in prison.
According to WXYZ 7 News Detroit, investigators say Burhans traveled to the Warren motel expecting to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex. He was arraigned on the six counts in Warren's 37th District Court before Judge Steven Bieda, who entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, per Metro Detroit News. Burhans is being held at the Macomb County Jail with bail set at $300,000 cash or surety, and his next court date is scheduled for October 22.
A Vigilante Confrontation Preceded the Arrest
Predator Poachers, a group known for confronting adults suspected of trying to meet children online, was founded by Alex Rosen. Rosen told the station that Burhans spoke with members of the group at the motel and appeared shocked and stunned at first, before Rosen said Burhans admitted he wanted to have sex with an 11-year-old girl and had attempted to arrange a hotel room for her. In a video released after the sting, the group separately claimed Burhans admitted to communicating with multiple minors ages 11 and 12, receiving explicit images from them, and downloading images of children online.
Warren Police Lieutenant John Gajewski called the allegations troubling and the charges serious, telling the station the community and school districts were safer with Burhans off the streets. Warren police arrested Burhans following the encounter connected to Predator Poachers. The formal charges against him include child sexually abusive activity, aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, soliciting a minor for immoral purposes, and three computer-crime counts.
What the Charges Actually Require Prosecutors to Prove
The gap between a civilian video confrontation and a courtroom case matters here. Under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.145c, inducing or coercing a child into sexually abusive activity carries up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, while simple possession of child sexual abusive material carries up to four years, according to the Cromer Law Group. Separately, under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.145a, soliciting or enticing a child — or a person believed to be a child under 16 — for immoral purposes is a felony punishable by up to four years, per the Criminal Defense Law Center West Michigan. That statute applies even in decoy operations where no actual minor was present. Macomb County prosecutors authorized the six counts against Burhans, which Metro Detroit News reports carry combined maximum exposure spanning that four-to-20-year range.
Northville Schools Distances Itself From Contracted Worker
Northville Public Schools said Burhans worked for GRBS Inc., the district's contracted custodial service provider, and had been employed as a contractor in the district for six months. He worked evening shifts at Silver Springs Elementary School before most recently working at Northville High School. GRBS Inc., a Grand Rapids-based company, has provided janitorial services across the state since 1915 and now maintains custodial operations spanning more than 30 million square feet in Michigan.
GRBS terminated Burhans's employment after law enforcement notified the company of his arrest and permanently barred him from district property. The company said it worked with the district to ensure proper protocols were followed and said it had no further comment on the matter. Darby Hoppenstedt, the district's director of community partnerships and wellness, was named in the station's reporting on the district's response.
Community Reaction in Warren and Northville
Residents reached by WXYZ expressed relief at the arrest. Tracey Morris said she was glad Burhans was caught and arrested and did not want people like him on the street. Mohammad Rashid said he was happy the person was caught and found the prospect of the suspect being around children frightening.
Judge Bieda, who presided over the arraignment, was appointed to the 37th District Court bench by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in January 2023 following a 14-year career in the Michigan Legislature and service as chairperson of the Michigan Tax Tribunal, according to the 37th District Court. The court serves as the primary municipal judicial body for Warren and Center Line in Macomb County, handling misdemeanor trials and felony preliminary examinations before cases move further through the system.
Part of a Wider Pattern in Metro Detroit
The case follows a string of similar prosecutions tied to civilian sting groups across the region. Hoodline previously reported on a Hazel Park man held on $1M bond in a case that highlighted multi-agency digital child exploitation task force operations involving Northville police, part of a broader regional reliance on joint investigations between local police, state task forces, and computer forensics experts to recover deleted files and verify online communications. Digital forensic work of that kind typically continues well after an arrest, as investigators build the evidentiary record separate from whatever was captured on video during a civilian confrontation.
