Man steals monkeys from Dallas zoo

A 24-year-old man, Davion Irvin, is now connected to an unusual crime at the Dallas Zoo. Police say that he stole two monkeys from their enclosure, and then proceeded to take the monkeys onto the city’s light rail system in order to escape. 

Irvin was arrested for his crimes, and his bond was set at 25,000 dollars. He is charged with six counts of animal cruelty, three for each monkey, and two counts of burglary. 

According to police reports, Irvin said on the night of January 29 he waited until dark before he jumped a fence in order to get onto the Dallas Zoo grounds. Following this, he cut the metal mesh of an enclosure and took two emperor tamarin monkeys. 

His getaway was made whole when he got on the city’s light rail, then walked to the vacant home where he said he kept the animals.

All thanks to a public tip, police found the monkeys, whose names are Bella and Finn. An affidavit claims this tip came from a caller who said they recognized the man from the images. The monkeys were then found the day after they were reported missing, at the empty home in Lancaster, Texas, approximately 15 miles from the zoo. 

Police then arrested Irving a few blocks from The Dallas World Aquarium, where he had been asking suspicious questions about animals prompting a worker to recognize him from local news coverage about the subject.