The capture of a man, age 24, who is accused of stealing two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo has helped to shed some light on a string of mysterious events that occurred at the zoo. On Friday, the police announced that they have linked him to the escape of a small leopard as well as a gash in the fence of another monkey habitat.
What the authorities believe motivated him to commit the crime is yet unknown.
According to the police, Davion Irvin, who was taken into custody on Thursday, has been charged with two charges of burglary in addition to the six counts of animal cruelty.
Irvin was apprehended after an employee at the Dallas World Aquarium recognized him from media coverage of the disappearance of the monkeys. The employee saw Irvin while he was at the Dallas World Aquarium, which houses exotic creatures.
“We do believe that (Irvin) was looking to commit another crime,” Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said at a Friday news conference.
Monday, two emperor tamarin monkeys named Bella and Finn went missing from their enclosure. The police department responded by releasing a photo and video of a guy they said they wanted to talk to regarding the disappearance of the monkeys. The individual was identified as Irvin by the police subsequently.
Lowman stated that any information regarding a probable motive was still being considered as part of the continuing inquiry.
Bella and Finn were discovered on Tuesday in the closet of an empty house in Lancaster, a suburb of Dallas located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the zoo. The discovery was made possible by a tip from the general public. However, their disappearance was only the most recent in a series of strange occurrences that had taken place in the zoo.
On January 13, arriving personnel discovered that a clouded leopard named Nova was missing from her cage. According to the authorities, an intentional opening had been made in her enclosure using a cutting tool. The zoo was shut down while a search for her was initiated, and she was located later that day close to where she normally lives.
Workers at the zoo discovered a similar tear in an enclosure housing langur monkeys, but according to the police, none of the monkeys appeared to have been injured and none escaped.
The staff who arrived at the zoo on January 21 discovered that an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin had passed away. The president and chief executive officer of the zoo, Gregg Hudson, stated that the death was “extremely odd” and that the vulture had “a wound.”
Lowman stated on Friday that the investigation is still ongoing, but Irvin has not been connected to the death of the vulture at this time.
Harrison Edell, the executive vice president for animal care and conservation at the Dallas Zoo, was the one who spoke at the news conference. He noted that the past month has been “The last month has been an emotional roller coaster for the team here at Dallas Zoo,”
According to the statements made by the police, all six crimes of animal cruelty that Irvin is being investigated for are associated with the theft of the emperor tamarin monkeys, with three counts for each. According to Lowman, one of the counts of burglary is related to the removal of the emperor tamarin monkeys, while the other charge is associated with the leopard.
During the news conference, Lowman had stated that one of the burglary offenses was associated with the cut that was discovered in the enclosure of the langur monkeys; however, she later clarified that statement by stating that the charge was associated with the emperor tamarin monkeys. She stated that Irvin has been connected to the cut that occurred in the enclosure for the langur monkeys.
On Friday, the police announced that they had apprehended Irvin after receiving information that he had been seen in the vicinity of the animal exhibits at The Dallas World Aquarium. According to the police, cops who responded to the incident saw him boarding the city’s light rail and later located him a few blocks away. After that, he was transported to the headquarters of the police department for questioning.
A spokeswoman for the aquarium named Waylon Tate stated that Irvin had approached an employee to ask questions about an animal, and that the employee had recognized him from the news.
Irvin was still being held in jail as of Friday evening, and his bond was set at $25,000. The records from the jail did not include the name of a counsel who could speak on his behalf. There was no quick response to any of the calls made to the phone lines given for his family.
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