Charges continue to pile up against a man who is accused of “intentionally” cutting down several animal enclosures at the Dallas Zoo that let loose a leopard and released monkeys that were found days later in an abandoned house.
Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested near animal exhibits at the Dallas World Aquarium on Thursday and charged with six counts of animal cruelty in connection with two missing emperor tamarins.
Two counts of burglary were added to a building Friday night after police connected Irvin to a sabotaged leopard enclosure that created a chaotic search in and around the zoo, and to a langur monkey habitat “intentionally” cut up .
MONKEYS MISSING AT DALLAS ZOO FOUND IN ABANDONED HOUSE, POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AT AQUARIUM
In this undated photo provided by the Dallas Zoo, a clouded leopard named Nova rests on a tree branch in an enclosure.
(Dallas Zoo via AP)
Nova the spotted leopard was safely returned to its habitat the same day, and none of the langur monkeys escaped or were captured, according to police.
More charges may be filed, Dallas police said.
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As of Saturday morning, Irvin was not connected to the suspicious death of an endangered vulture, according to police.
Last Friday, the vulture was found dead in its habitat and authorities found an “unusual wound,” police said.
The Dallas Police Department, with the assistance of the Lancaster Police Department, discovered two missing marmosets from the Dallas Zoo in a vacant home.
(Dallas Police Department)
The case against Irvin and the rescue of two missing emperor tamarins came to fruition quickly after police released a photo of the suspect Wednesday morning.
The public called police with a series of leads that led investigators to an empty house in the city of Lancaster, outside Dallas, where the missing monkeys were recovered Wednesday night.
More tips on Irvin’s whereabouts came in, allowing police to track him to the Dallas World Aquarium, where he was arrested Thursday.
Dallas police, with the assistance of the Lancaster Police Department, located the two missing marmosets from the Dallas Zoo in an abandoned house in Lancaster.
(Dallas Police Department).
“Preliminary investigation and input from the public identified Irvin as the man Dallas police were seeking to speak with about the missing monkeys at the Dallas Zoo,” police said in a statement Thursday.
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All the animals, including the emperor tamarins, are in good health, according to police.
Investigations into the peculiar incidents at the zoo are ongoing.
