UPDATE JAN. 14: Las Vegas police have arrested Russell Fowler, labeled as the "blue bucket bandit."
Fowler was arrested without incident at an apartment complex near Alta and Durango drives. He was transported to Clark County Detention Center and booked for an outstanding unrelated warrant. He was rebooked later on a felony charge of comprehensive theft in connection with at least 9 reported events.
UPDATE: Las Vegas detectives are seeking assistance from the public in locating Russell Fowler - aka the "blue bucket bandit."
The 41-year-old has been identified as a suspect connected with several incidents involving package thefts and thefts of surveillance cameras from the front of residences in the northwest part of town, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Anyone with information on Fowler's whereabouts was urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Homeowners in Summerlin and other northwest Las Vegas communities are banding together, hoping to catch a man that's been going around snatching surveillance cameras right off their homes.
Shea Redd lives near Lake Mead and Rampart Boulevards and says his family was home when the man walked right up to their porch and grabbed the camera from the wall.
He also said he's just glad he didn't come face to face with the thief because things could have been worse.
"I slept in the front couch that night," Redd said. "He (the suspect) could have kicked down the door."
From that night, it turned out Redd wasn't alone when he posted about this experience on the Nextdoor app as he saw at least a dozen other posts about people having the same thing happen to them.
In one case near Vegas and Durango Drives, a man appearing to be the same guy was seen yanking a camera off the wall.
This suspect is being dubbed the "blue bucket guy," because in some cases, he's using a bucket to climb up and snatch cameras that are out of reach.
Neighbors have been filing police reports and are hoping someone will recognize the crook.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas police and Ring Doorbell are letting people know some safety tips to protect your home surveillance:
- You can register your camera with police's SafeCam program.
- You should also make sure you use the tamperproof screws that come with the doorbell.
- And if it is stolen, Ring has a theft protection policy in place.
- If you send a copy of your police report, they will replace it.
