24-year-old man arrested in connection with the kidnapping of 2 monkeys from Dallas Zoo
A 24-year-old man who police had been searching for in connection to emperor tamarin monkeys that went missing from the Dallas Zoo was in custody Friday after his arrest, Dallas police said.
Police identified the man as Davion Irvin, who was arrested Thursday in Dallas, two days after the two monkeys were found in an empty building that belongs to a church in Lancaster.
Irvin was in the Dallas County Jail on Friday and he faces six charges of animal cruelty in the case involving the monkeys.
Irvin also faces two charges of burglary of a building in connection to the cases of the zoo’s missing clouded leopard and the tamarin monkeys, Dallas police said at a news conference Friday.
Nova, the zoo’s clouded leopard, disappeared about three weeks ago after her cage was cut. The leopard was eventually found on the zoo grounds and returned to her enclosure.
A similar cut was found in the langur monkeys enclosure after Nova escaped and was later found. None of the langur monkeys escaped or were harmed.
And Irvin also is under investigation to determine if he was involved with the death of a vulture at the zoo, Pin, who had what appeared to be a stab wound as well as some fish and other items believed to have been stolen from the zoo, according to WFAA-TV.
There are more charges Irvin could possibly face, police said. Officials believe, based on the investigation, Irvin was looking to commit another crime.
On Thursday, police received a tip that Irvin was seen at the Dallas Aquarium near animal exhibits.
When officers responded they saw Irvin get onto a DART rail, Dallas police said. Officers later spotted Irvin in the 1400 block of Pacific and took him to Jack Evans Headquarters for questioning.
WFAA-TV reported that Irvin was in the Aquarium near an animal habitat and was checking out the mesh enclosures.
The emperor tamarin monkeys who disappeared from the Dallas Zoo on Monday morning were found Tuesday. They have lost a little weight but show no signs of injury, according to zoo officials.
The monkeys remain in medical quarantine and continue to gain the weight they lost, zoo officials said Friday.
Zoo officials realized that Bella and Finn, the monkeys, had been taken out of the zoo after their enclosure was tampered with and a search didn’t find them on the zoo grounds.
A zookeeper discovered that a fence around the monkeys’ enclosure had been cut and an “unknown suspect” entered the exhibit through an unlocked door, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Dallas Morning News.
There were no surveillance cameras in the areas to capture the break-in, and no keys were “needed to enter the general area,” according to the affidavit.
In early January, “feeder fish, water chemicals, fish flake food and training supplies” were stolen from a staff-only area near the otter exhibit, police said in the affidavit.
Days before the monkeys were stolen, a man, later identified as Irvin, was asking questions about the animals at the zoo, including the tamarin monkeys and the “status and location” of the clouded leopards, the affidavit states.
Irvin asked “obscure questions,” including how to care for the monkeys, the affidavit says. Irvin was seen entering staff-only areas around the tamarins’ enclosure and looking into windows, police said.
Earlier in the week, police had released a surveillance image of a man who authorities wanted to question about the missing monkeys. That man has now been identified as Irvin.
WFAA-TV reported the monkeys were found in at closet of a building that belongs to a church in Lancaster, Family Center Church of God in Christ.
The pastor’s daughter, Tonya Thomas, told WFAA that church members recognized Irvin and he would sometimes attend services.
Thomas also said that there had been several break-ins at the empty building, which was being renovated to become a community center.
She said when police investigated the prior burglaries they found chickens, birds, cats and other small animals.
Thomas told WFAA that her father called police and told them they might want to check the building because church members believed the man police were looking for might have been the person breaking in.
The zoo has consulted security experts and developed new strategies to secure its 106-acre grounds, officials said in a statement Wednesday, including additional cameras and patrols of “areas that were challenging,” security technology, fencing, and increased overnight staffing.
Zoo officials confirmed that Irvin was never employed by and never volunteered with the Dallas Zoo.
“We are focused on preventing this from ever happening again,” said Gregg Hudson, chief executive officer of the Dallas Zoo.
This story was originally published February 3, 2023 at 8:56 AM.
