Police: Suspect uses boost to swipe cameras at homes

Finding a man who stands on a blue bucket to steal surveillance cameras from Las Vegas Valley homes is proving to be a tall task.

In a release Las Vegas police dubbed the 41-year-old man suspected of the crimes the “Blue Bucket Bandit,” and are seeking the public’s help to find him.

Metropolitan Police Department received a report on Dec. 31 of a surveillance camera stolen from the front porch of a home near West Lake Mead and North Rampart boulevards, a release said.

“The victim in this case became aware of other residents in the neighborhood who had been the victim of similar crimes,” police said.

On Thursday afternoon, police identified the man, Russell Fowler, as a suspect in nine incidents. Police said Fowler can be seen in many of the cases showing up in front of homes holding a blue bucket, on which he stands and reaches for the mounted security cameras. He then rips them off the homes and flees.

Metro released footage showing a man police identify as Fowler leaping to grab a camera mounted to the outside of one home, and in another video, placing the bucket on the ground, standing on it and attempting to wrest a camera off the wall.

Metro also named Fowler as a suspect in some package thefts.

Anyone with information on Fowler’s whereabouts, any of the cases or who believes they may have been victimized should call Metro’s Northwest Area Command investigators at 702-8288577 or Crime Stoppers at 702-3855555 to remain anonymous