A 24-year-old man has been arrested in Dallas and charged in connection with the suspected theft of a pair of emperor tamarin monkeys that were recovered unharmed this week in an abandoned home a day after they vanished from the Dallas Zoo, police said.
Davion Irvin was arrested late Thursday night and charged with six counts of animal cruelty-non-livestock, Dallas Police said in a news release.
"The preliminary investigation and help from the public identified Irvin as the man Dallas Police were looking to speak with regarding the missing monkeys at the Dallas Zoo," police stated.
The monkeys' disappearance followed a series of suspicious incidents at the zoo in recent weeks involving a leopard, langur monkeys and vulture, all of which led to a hike in security, including more cameras, security patrols, overnight staff, fencing and technology. Meantime, a Louisiana zoo reported the weekend theft of 12 squirrel monkeys.
A $25,000 reward was offered in the Dallas missing monkeys case as zoo officials released surveillance footage that "seems to have been critical in generating a tip that led to the recovery of the tamarins" in the home in Lancaster, Texas, about 15 miles away.
