LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Las Vegas police revealed that a man who was arrested for scaling the Sphere caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to the iconic venue.
According to a police report, LVMPD patrol officers received multiple calls reporting a suspicious person seen climbing the exterior of the Sphere at 10:11 a.m. on Wednesday. Officers arrived on the scene, confirmed that the suspect was on the building, and coordinated with Sphere staff to get to the top to get the man down safely before anyone was injured.
Officers made contact with the suspect, Maison Des Champs, on the roof of the Sphere. He was secured, detained, and taken down through the interior of the Sphere to a patrol car.
Officers became aware of other individuals who arrived on the scene with the suspect and were reportedly handing out flyers and recording him climbing the building. Three other people were also taken into custody.
Sphere management notified police that there had been damaged property on the building’s exterior from where the suspect was standing and stepping. Sphere representatives explained to police that staff does not repair the building from the outside because “it was designed to be maintained from the inside due to the parts being so delicate.”
Police added that they had previously rehearsed a scenario like this one, and noted that removing an oculus hatch and taking the suspect inside that way was the “best-case scenario.” They said that if he had refused, a helicopter would have been deployed to remove him.
Des Champs told investigators that he has been arrested several times for climbing other buildings and that “he has never been convicted and that his attorneys will get him off on this incident as well.”
Damage to the property was estimated at $100,000. Des Champs has an appearance in Clark County Justice Court scheduled for Feb. 12.
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