Davion Dwight Irvin, the man accused of stealing two tamarin monkeys and attempting to steal a snow leopard from the Dallas Zoo, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony burglary charges and six counts of animal cruelty.
He was arrested on February 2nd and later linked to the crimes that occurred at the zoo. According to officials, Irvin was “looking to commit another crime” days before his arrest, while holding a bag of Doritos and wandering around the zoo’s animal enclosures.
The zoo was hit by a series of criminal incidents over the past few months, beginning with a clouded leopard named Nova that went missing in mid-January.
The zoo closed temporarily while the search for the 25-pound feline was underway, and it was eventually found and returned to its enclosure unharmed. The same day, it was discovered that another habitat for langur monkeys had been cut into, but the animals were not able to escape.
Irvin was linked to the theft of two tamarin monkeys and the attempted theft of a snow leopard from the zoo. He was indicted on Tuesday for entering a building at the zoo without anyone knowing and snatching the monkeys.
The indictment also alleges that he had the “intent to commit theft” in the case of the snow leopard, although no charges have been announced yet for his connection to the langur monkey case.
However, he was not connected to the death of the vulture that was found dead inside its habitat.
The exotic monkeys were eventually found unharmed inside a church closet in Lancaster, Texas, about 15 miles from the Dallas Zoo. Irvin had asked questions about the animals at the zoo, including the monkeys and the clouded leopard’s “status and location.”
According to an affidavit, he also entered nonpublic areas around the monkeys’ enclosures, looking into windows that were not accessible to the public.
Irvin is currently being held on a $130,000 bond at the Dallas County Jail. Meanwhile, the zoo has increased security by installing more cameras and increasing patrols and overnight staff.
»Dallas Zoo thefts: Man accused of stealing monkeys and trying to steal a snow leopard indicted«