DALLAS — A man was arrested in connection with the theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys that were taken from the Dallas Zoo this week after being spotted near animal exhibits at the Dallas World Aquarium, police say.
Davion Irvin, 24, was booked into the Dallas County jail Thursday night, according to jail records. Irvin faces six charges of animal cruelty in connection to the monkey case, police said. Jail records show five charges with his bail set at $25,000. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
A man who identified himself as a family friend — and who was listed as Irvin’s potential relative in public records — told The Dallas Morning News that Irvin was innocent. The man said the picture Dallas police released earlier this week of a person they wanted to interview shows a man with a bag of chips in his hand, “not no monkeys.”
“He did not do what they saying he did,” he said in a text, adding that Irvin is a good kid.
He said police were trying to pin the case on Irvin when Irvin had “never been in any trouble.”
The arrest is a major development in the mystery at the Dallas Zoo that has deepened over the last several weeks. It follows a string of incidents, including other missing animals — such as a clouded leopard named Nova who was found unharmed hours later — torn enclosures and the unusual death of an endangered vulture.
According to an arrest-warrant affidavit obtained Friday by the News, police said the investigations into the other cut enclosures at the zoo — which occurred before the monkeys were taken — were still open cases. The arrest was only in connection with the emperor tamarin monkeys.
Affidavit details ‘obscure questions’
The two monkeys, Bella and Finn, were unaccounted for in their habitat Monday morning, according to zoo officials, who said it was immediately “clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised.” Police said the habitat was cut.
Police wrote in the affidavit that the monkeys were seen in their enclosure by a zookeeper about 4:45 p.m. Sunday. The next day, another zookeeper discovered the fencing surrounding the monkeys’ enclosure had been cut and that an “unknown suspect” had walked into the exhibit through an unlocked door, the affidavit says.
When police arrived, the affidavit says, they found the metal mesh that made up most of the enclosure’s door was “cut and bent in a manner and size for a person to both reach into and/or gain access to.”
There were no other signs of entry, no cameras that would have captured the break-in, and no key was “needed to enter the general area,” according to the affidavit.
Police said it was also “brought to light” that in early January, there were unreported thefts of “feeder fish, water chemicals, fish flake food and training supplies” that were located in the staff-only area of the otter exhibit, according to the affidavit.
A detective was told that in the days leading up to when the monkeys were taken, a man — later identified as Irvin — was asking questions about animals at the zoo, including the emperor tamarins and the “status and location” of the clouded leopard, according to the affidavit.
Irvin asked general questions about animals, but also “obscure questions such as practices in housing and moving of animals” — and specifically asked how to care for the emperor tamarin monkeys, the affidavit says. Irvin was seen entering nonpublic areas around the monkeys’ enclosure, and looked into windows that were not accessible to the public, the affidavit says.
The Dallas Zoo security director supplied police with multiple images of Irvin. Police on Tuesday shared surveillance images of a man and asked for the public’s help in identifying him, saying he was believed to have information about the monkeys. The department said detectives were looking to speak with him and said “he is not a person of interest currently.”
Police identified Irvin with facial recognition programs and additional “workups” by the DPD intelligence center, according to the affidavit. Police also received a tip about multiple people seeing the suspect at a vacant house in Lancaster on Gerry Way, where the monkeys were later found, the affidavit says.
The family that owns the community house — and runs the church next door — previously told the News that they tipped off Dallas police after the department released the image of the man believed to have information about the monkeys.
Tonya Thomas, whose father is the pastor of the Family Center Church of God in Christ in Lancaster, said her family suspected unusual activity at the house since just before Christmas. She said there had been a break-in at the house in the recent past, and that animals were also found inside previously. The house, in the 2500 block of Gerry Way Street just south of Wintergreen Road, is about 20 minutes from the Dallas Zoo.
The family suspected the first break-in may have been someone who had been in the area and visited the church before. Thomas said the man they suspected appeared to be the same as the person in DPD’s photo.
After the family’s tip, Dallas police and Lancaster officers responded to the house on Gerry Way and said the door was unsecured and open, the affidavit says. Police found the two missing emperor tamarin monkeys, as well as multiple cats and pigeons, inside the home, according to the affidavit.
Police described the home to be in “extreme poor condition” with suspected cat feces, building material debris, mold and/or mildew and dead animals, the affidavit said. In the specific area the monkeys were found in, police said there were bird feces and feathers, along with wet, moldy pieces of clothing.
A witness, who identified Irvin for police, told police he frequently saw Irvin enter the home.
In additional interviews with zoo staff about Irvin on Wednesday, the affidavit stated zoo staff said they believed the questions asked by Irvin were “outside the normal realm of questioning” and said they had previously advised their colleagues of Irvin before the monkeys were taken, according to the affidavit.
Police found Irvin after officers received a tip Thursday that a man wearing the “same style and color clothing” as the person DPD released a picture of earlier in the week was seen at the aquarium, according to the affidavit.
The officers saw Irvin get onto a DART rail, later spotting him in the 1400 block of Pacific Avenue, then took him to police headquarters for questioning, police said.
Waylon Tate, a spokesman for the aquarium, said Irvin stopped an employee to ask questions about one of their animals, and the employee “immediately recognized” him from news coverage of the incident involving the two monkeys.
“The employee swiftly notified local authorities, and Mr. Irvin was later apprehended outside of and away from our facility,” Tate said. “There were no disruptions to our operations or guests’ experiences during or after the interaction at The Dallas World Aquarium, and our staff will continue to cooperate with authorities regarding this matter.”
Police said further charges for Irvin are possible as the investigation into the incidents at the zoo continues.
The zoo said after the monkeys were found that they showed no signs of injury.
