Man accused of stealing monkeys and attempted theft of snow leopard at Dallas Zoo indicted

A man accused of stealing two tamarin monkeys and the attempted theft of a snow leopard from a Dallas Zoo has been indicted on felony burglary charges and six counts of animal cruelty.

Davion Dwight Irvin, 24, was indicted on Tuesday by a grand jury. He was arrested on February 2, and linked to the crimes that took place at the Dallas Zoo.

Days before his arrest, police issued a surveillance photograph of him, holding a bag of Doritos, while creeping around the zoo apparently eyeing up animal enclosures. Officials believe that Irvin was ‘looking to commit another crime.’

The drama began in mid-January when a missing clouded leopard disappeared. It was later discovered that its fence in its enclosure had been cut open.

Days later, two exotic monkeys went missing. Dallas police later learned that they were intentionally taken and linked Irvin to the crime. The monkeys were discovered in a closet inside a home in Lancaster, Texas and were unharmed, officials said.

According to an indictment, Irvin entered a building at the zoo without anyone knowing before snatching the monkeys, CNN reported

In the case of the snow leopard, the indictment alleges that Irvin had the ‘intent to commit theft.’

He was also linked to the langur monkey case although no charges have been announced yet. But, he was not connected to the death of the vulture, officials said.

Dallas Zoo – the largest in Texas – had been plagued by a series of criminal incidents over the last few months.

The first of the bizarre incidents occurred on January 13, when a clouded leopard named Nova suddenly went missing from its enclosure.

The event sparked a day-long search for the 25-pound feline, which was eventually tracked down by cops a few hours later just off the zoo property. It was subsequently returned to its enclosure safe and sound.

Forced to close down during the search for the cat, the zoo resumed operations as normal the next day – until it was discovered that a second habitat – one housed a breed of monkey known as langurs – had also been cut into.

Fortunately, the hole was discovered before any of the animals could escape.

A police report later alleged the incidents were both a result of ‘criminal mischief’ spurring zoo staffers to implement a series of added security measures including the installation of additional cameras and increased security patrols at night.

A week later, a 35-year-old endangered vulture was found dead inside its habitat, causing the zoo to again go to the local police department, this time asking for help in its own investigation – which found that the vulture’s cause of death was from a wound. 

It was soon discerned the vulture’s death was likely the result of foul play, with officials deeming it ‘suspicious.’

And in January the two monkeys named Bella and Finn were missing from their enclosure, which had been ‘intentionally compromised’.

Irvin had asked questions about animals at the zoo, including the monkeys and the ‘status and location’ of the clouded leopard, officials said, according to The Dallas Morning News. 

According to an affidavit, Irvin asked staffers how to care for tamarin monkeys. He was also seen entering nonpublic areas around the monkeys’ enclosures, looking into the windows that were not accessible to the public.

The exotic monkeys were eventually recovered by officials found inside a church closet in Lancaster, approximately 15 miles away from the Dallas Zoo.

The animals were unharmed though temperatures inside the building were only 37 degrees, officials said.

Police were tipped off when the church pastor told them that Irvin may be the same person who has been breaking into their church.

When officials went to the empty church to investigate the burglaries they had found a number of other animals inside including, cats and birds.

At the time, sources told WFAA they were looking into the possibility that Irvin is connected to all the incidents that took place at the Dallas Zoo in the prior weeks.

The church pastor’s daughter, Tonya Thomas said members from the church had also recognized Irvin attending services at the church.

She told the authorities about a series of break-ins happening at the church and that they were renovating the space into a community center.

Meanwhile, the zoo has since increased their security by installing more cameras and increasing patrols and overnight staff.

Irvin is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail on $130,00.