Originally posted by: http://www.freep.com/article/20120427/NEWS04/120427051/Sterling-Heights-superhero-BeeSting-trailer-park?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Some superheroes rely on special powers to fight crime, but, according to police, a Sterling Heights man who goes by the name "BeeSting," carries a gun.
And now Adam Besso, 36, a.k.a. BeeSting, is on the wrong side of the law after the shotgun he was carrying while on patrol in a Burton trailer park discharged while he was confronting a man with a loud motorcycle, police said.
The two men tussled after the 38-year-old victim, whose girlfriend lives at the trailer park, grabbed the gun barrel because he felt threatened, according to Burton Police Lt. Mike Odette.
The owner of the trailer park had authorized one superhero to patrol the park, but that person was unavailable, paving the way for BeeSting and two other masked crusaders, although Odette said the others were not involved in the incident. He said that police were called to the trailer park about 12:07 a.m. Thursday and BeeSting was still on the ground wrestling with the victim when police arrived two minutes later. The gunshot sent a round into a vacant trailer, and the victim had a cut on his lip, apparently from the altercation, but refused medical treatment.
Odette noted that no super powers were witnessed by the officers on the scene.
Besso faces two four-year felonies: felonious assault and wearing body armor during the commission of a violent crime. He was arraigned Friday in 67th District Court and bail was set at $80,000.
John Potbury, assistant prosecutor and spokesman for Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, said Besso was wearing a tactical belt with pepper spray, handcuffs and scissors. He said officials recommend leaving the police work to actual police officers.
"We are always appreciative of citizens who are observant and are able to provide information to authorities, but we do not advocate that they take on the role of a police officer."
Aside from the criminal charges, BeeSting faces other penalties in the superhero realm. His band of super friends, known as the Michigan Protectors, plans to boot him from the group.
Joshua Lowery of Eaton Rapids, who goes by the name Arsenul, said the group does not believe in carrying loaded guns. Lowery said the groups members, approximately nine people around the state, are as likely to do outreach to the homeless as actually fight crime.
"We dont want to be considered vigilantes as much as we want to be considered (to be) helping others," he said.
He noted that Besso, whose bio on the protectors home page says he was injured in Iraq, is an awesome guy.
"He likes to take care of people, thats one of the best things I know about him," Lowery said.
Originally posted by: http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/04/burton_trailer_park_resident_s.html"
BURTON, MI -- Tom Carter said he didn't know what to think when a masked man outside his trailer said something to him Thursday.
"I couldn't hear him, so I started to approach him and that's when the gun came out," said Carter, 38.
Police said the armed man was Bee Sting, a 36-year-old crime fighter from Sterling Heights who was arrested after the incident in a Burton trailer park early Thursday morning.
Adam Thomas Besso was arraigned by Genesee District Judge Larry J. Stecco on Friday for assault with a dangerous weapon and wearing body armor during a commission of a violent crime.
"As soon as I saw the gun I was thinking I didn't want my kids to get shot," said Carter.
Police said the incident was sparked by Besso questioning Carter about his motorcycle being to loud.
Carter grabbed the barrel of the gun and the two scuffled until police arrived.
One shot was fired.
"Nobody got hurt, thank God," said Carter. "I didn't do anything wrong. They questioned me and let me go. It's so crazy that I got no sleep that night."
Besso regularly travels to Flint and other communities dressed as a superhero and conducts crime watches.
"He's a trained combat veteran," his fiance Amanda Wilson said today. "He wouldn't just willy-nilly pull out a (shotgun) unless he thought, 'This guy is going to kill me.'"
She believes there's more to the story.
But Carter said all he did was help get an armed man off the streets.
"My only concern was getting that gun so no one got shot," he said. "I'm not looking for a superhero in my trailer park. It's not against the law to ride a motorcycle.
"Just because we live in a trailer park doesn't make us less human and we're not going to let people come in here giving us a bad name."
His sons Cody and Nickolas Carter were in bed early Thursday morning when they heard yelling, and saw their dad and a man with a bandana over his face wrestling on the ground. They then heard the bang of a shotgun going off.
"I wasn't sure if my dad was hurt or not," said Cody, 16. "The bullet could have came into the trailer and hurt me."
Nickolas, 13, said every superhero has a weakness, and in this case, Bee Sting's weakness was his dad.
"The should stay out of the trailer park if they don't live here," he said. "Carrying around a shotgun, that's not cool."
Neighbor Kim Simmons also wasn't impressed by Besso's motives.
"That's ridiculous," said Simmons, 51. "Call the cops or something instead of trying to do something yourself."
A few blocks from the trailer park is Comic Relief, a store full of superhero memorabilia.
The customers inside were slightly more sympathetic toward Besso and much more amused by the incident, but weren't exactly supportive of the "real-life superhero" lifestyle.
"I understand what he was doing and I'm sure he had good intentions, but he's probably not the smartest person," said Blaine Simon, 21, of Swartz Creek.
"I think it's sad that people feel they have to take it into their own hands because there aren't enough police," said Alan Bradshaw, 23, of Grand Blanc Township.
"But he probably should have seen someone before he started doing that."
With BeeSting no longer able to fight crime, I don't know if it's safe to go outside anymore.
Post edited by Buzzed at 4/30/2012 10:06:34 PM