A man suspected of stealing two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo said he’d do it again if released from jail, according to court documents.
Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested last week and reportedly admitted to taking the two emperor tamarin monkeys. He allegedly told investigators he loved animals and would steal more if released.
Irvin is behind bars on $25,000 bond after being charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary. He was arrested Thursday near the The Dallas World Aquarium where he was asking questions about the animals and an employee recognized him from news coverage of the zoo incidents.
According to arrest warrant affidavits, Irvin told police he hopped a fence to get into the zoo on the night of Jan. 29 and then cut the monkeys’ enclosure open before taking them on public transportation to a vacant home where he kept animals.
Police investigating a tip found the monkeys, multiple cats and pigeons at the home, as well as dead feeder fish and fish food that had gone missing from the Dallas Zoo earlier in January.
Irvin also told investigators he had tried to take a clouded leopard named Nova, who escaped on Jan. 13 after Irvin allegedly cut open the animal’s enclosure. He told investigators he petted the animal before she jumped on top of her enclosure and he was unable to catch her. Nova was later found near her habitat, unharmed.
Police also believe Irvin cut open the enclosure for langur monkeys at the zoo, but those animals did not escape. However, he is not believed to be connected to the suspicious death of a vulture at the zoo.
Prior to the emperor monkeys being taken, a man matching Irvin’s description had raised suspicions at the zoo for asking about transporting monkeys and entering staff-only areas of the zoo.
Irvin is also not connected to the theft of 12 squirrel monkeys from a zoo in Louisiana. A 61-year-old man was arrested in connection to that case on Tuesday but the monkeys have not been recovered.