It does sound like some citizens "took out the trash". And while I'm too aware of how vigilante justice can turn VERY bad, it sounds like it worked in this case.
Saved taxpayers a ton of money, for one thing. And he won't get out thanks to a lenient judge who believed his sob story about a "rough childhood" ("didn't get enough Twinkies and EVERYONE ELSE had plenty") and gave him a break.
Summerthyme