The man accused of stealing two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo is also linked with the tampering of the zoo’s clouded leopard and langur monkey exhibits, and he had plans to swipe more animals, authorities said Friday.
Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested Thursday and is accused of burglary and animal cruelty crimes.
Pictures of a man had been circulated throughout North Texas, and an employee at The Dallas World Aquarium recognized him Thursday at the facility, aquarium spokesperson Waylon Tate said in a statement.
The suspect stopped an employee "to ask questions regarding one of our animals" and that worker "immediately recognized Mr. Irvin from prior reporting on the incident involving the suspected theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys," Tate said.
Those questions included "means and ways to catch animals,” according to a police affidavit supporting Irvin’s arrest warrant.
After authorities were called, approaching officers spotted Irvin boarding a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train before he was taken into custody, Dallas police spokesperson Kristin Lowman said in a statement. Authorities had also used facial recognition programs to identify him, the affidavit stated.
Officials said a motive remains under investigation, but the suspect was never an employee of the zoo.
“The investigation into all cases at the zoo are ongoing, and further charges are possible,” Lowman said.
The emperor tamarin monkeys were reported stolen from their habitats at the Dallas Zoo on Monday.
Police credited tips from the public with leading them to the monkeys, Bella and Finn, who were found Tuesday contained in a bathroom inside an empty home in nearby Lancaster on Tuesday. The animals were not harmed, officials said.
The animals were found on the property of a church on Gerry Way Street in Lancaster, across the street from "Suspect Irvin's family house," according to the police affidavit.
Inside, there were multiple cats and pigeons, animal feces and “deceased animals," the affidavit stated.
Authorities also found at the scene items that had been stolen from the facility last month, including fish flake food for otters and feeder fish.
Police said they have interviewed relatives of Irvin and showed them pictures of the man believed to have stolen Bella and Finn.
The family "stated that the image looked like Suspect Irvin but declined to positively identify him," the affidavit stated.
The monkeys' disappearance was the latest in a string of suspicious incidents at the zoo. Investigators found an intentional cut in their habitat and previously said they believed they were taken.
Irvin is accused of one count of burglary, five counts of cruelty to nonlivestock animals and one count of cruelty to livestock animals, jail records showed.
Those counts are related to the emperor tamarin monkeys, but the suspect also may be charged relating to the langur monkeys and the clouded leopard exhibit, authorities said.
The suspect was booked into custody late Thursday being held in lieu of $25,000 bail, jail records showed.
It wasn't immediately clear Friday morning if Irvin had hired or been assigned a lawyer.
Friday’s police announcement did not link this arrest to the other suspicious incidents at the zoo.
In recent days, Irvin had been at the zoo "asking questions about animals" which included queries about "the status and location of the recently escaped and relocated/captured Clouded Leopard," according to the police affidavit.
Police feared that if he was not caught, there would have been "further offenses of theft," the affidavit said.
On Jan. 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture, Pin, was found dead with what authorities have described as an “unusual wound.” The animal’s cause of death has not been determined.
On Jan. 13, Nova, a 3-year-old clouded leopard, escaped her wire mesh enclosure after an incision was made in it, authorities have said. The cat, who the zoo said posed no danger to the public, was found later that day.
A similar cut was found in the zoo’s langur monkey habitat, police said. No animals escaped or were taken or harmed.
The zoo has tightened security measures, adding more overnight guards and cameras, and it offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and an indictment in the incidents, the spokeswoman said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
