Police: Man arrested in taking of monkeys from Dallas Zoo

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DALLAS (AP) — A 24-year-old man has been arrested in the case of the two monkeys taken from the Dallas Zoo after he was spotted near the animal exhibits at an aquarium in the city, police said Friday.

Davion Irvin was arrested Thursday and was charged with six counts of animal cruelty, Dallas police said. Jail records, which don’t list an attorney for him, indicate that he faces five charges of animal cruelty and that his bail was set at $25,000.

The reason for the discrepancy between police and the jail in the number of charges was not immediately clear.

FILE – A Dallas police vehicle sits at an entrance at the Dallas Zoo, Jan. 13, 2023. When police said two small monkeys were taken from the Dallas Zoo this week and a cut was found in their enclosure, it deepened a growing mystery that has included other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture. Police said Tuesday, Jan. 31, that they are still working to determine whether or not the incidents over the last few weeks are related. (Shakfat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)

Police said officers arrested him after getting a tip that he had been seen near the animal exhibits at the Dallas Aquarium.

The monkeys named Bella and Finn went missing Monday, and a cut was found in their enclosure. Police found them the next day in a vacant house south of the zoo after getting a tip.

There have been several unusual events at the zoo over the past few weeks, including other enclosure fences that were cut, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture.

Police said their investigation is ongoing and that further charges are possible.

This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn at the zoo on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The disappearance Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, of the two monkeys and the discovery that their enclosure had been cut were the latest in a string of odd events at the zoo over the last few weeks, which has included other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture. The two small monkeys, who were found in an abandoned house Tuesday, Jan. 31, after being taken from the Dallas Zoo, lost a bit of weight during their ordeal but show no signs of injury, the zoo said Wednesday. (Dallas Zoo via AP)

This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows an emperor tamarins that lives at the zoo. Two monkeys were taken from the Dallas Zoo on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, police said, the latest in a string of odd incidents at the attraction being investigated. The emperor tamarins in this photo is not one of the two monkeys involved in the incident. (Dallas Zoo via AP)

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