CNN
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Authorities allege the person arrested within the suspected theft of a pair of emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo earlier this week was additionally allegedly concerned in tampering with different habitats on the zoo.
Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested Thursday on six counts of non-livestock animal cruelty in reference to the monkeys, the Dallas Police Division stated in a information launch. He was taken into custody on the Dallas World Aquarium, the place authorities “consider that he was seeking to commit one other crime,” Dallas Police spokesperson Kristin Lowman stated at a information convention Friday.
The monkeys’ disappearance adopted a sequence of suspicious incidents on the zoo in latest weeks involving a leopard, langur monkeys and vulture, all of which led to a hike in safety, together with extra cameras, patrols and in a single day workers.
Authorities say they’ve unraveled the mysteries and charged Irvin with housebreaking in connection to cuts within the zoo’s enclosures for the tamarin monkeys and clouded leopards. Police say he’s additionally been “linked” to the langur monkeys case however has not been charged in that incident.
A lappet-faced vulture was discovered lifeless in its habitat on the zoo on January 21. Lowman stated Irvin will not be presently charged in reference to that animal’s loss of life, however authorities are persevering with to research.
Police declined to talk about specifics of the investigation, together with a attainable motive, however say they do consider they know what occurred to the tamarins. “We’re conscious of how he obtained the monkeys out,” Lowman stated.
Jail data present Irvin remained within the Dallas County Jail Friday afternoon on a $25,000 bond. It was not instantly clear if he had an legal professional however CNN inquired with the Dallas County Public Defender’s Workplace.
Zoo officers say Irvin had no recognized connection to the zoo, and they’re persevering with to extend safety across the facility in response. “That is actually, really unprecedented,” zoo president and CEO Gregg Hudson stated.
The tamarin monkeys went lacking Monday from a habitat that had been “deliberately compromised,” the zoo stated, including Dallas Police stated they’d cause to consider they have been “deliberately taken from the enclosure.” The zoo was closed Monday because of inclement climate, it had earlier had introduced, with the closure prolonged via Wednesday because of an ice storm.
The animals have been recovered unhurt someday later in an deserted residence in Lancaster, Texas, about 15 miles away from the zoo. Authorities say surveillance footage helped result in a tip that led police to the monkeys on the residence. Upon their return to the zoo, the monkeys have been put into quarantine, the zoo stated.
“Emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, have been so pleased to snuggle into their nest sack right here on the Zoo final night time!” the zoo posted on Fb. “Our veterinary and animal care groups have stated, past dropping a little bit of weight, they present no indicators of harm and each began consuming and consuming nearly instantly as soon as the staff accomplished well being exams on Tuesday night time.”
On Jan. 13, a clouded leopard named Nova disappeared from its enclosure and the zoo closed to conduct a seek for the animal. Police launched a legal investigation after they discovered the fence round Nova’s enclosure had been “deliberately reduce,” they stated. Later that day, Nova was discovered close to her habitat.
In the meantime, zoo workers noticed an identical reduce to the enclosure of some langur monkeys, however none of them had escaped, the zoo stated.
The problems prompted the zoo to ramp up safety, together with putting in extra cameras and boosting in a single day safety personnel and staffing, Hudson stated. Restrictions have been additionally positioned on animals’ capability to go exterior in a single day, he added.
On Jan. 21, the lappet-faced vulture named Pin was discovered lifeless in his habitat. “Circumstances of the loss of life are uncommon, and the loss of life doesn’t seem like from pure causes,” the zoo stated in an announcement.
The chook’s loss of life was “suspicious” and it suffered “an uncommon wound and accidents,” Hudson stated.
Authorities are investigating the loss of life and Irvin has not been charged in reference to the incident. The zoo is providing a $10,000 reward for info resulting in the arrest and indictment of a suspect within the vulture’s loss of life.
