Texas man arrested for stealing 2 monkeys from Dallas Zoo says he'll do it again if released, court documents show
A 24-year-old man now linked to an unusual string of crimes that kept the Dallas Zoo on the lookout for missing animals told police that after he swiped two monkeys from their enclosure, he took them onto the city's light rail system to make his getaway, court records show.
Davion Irvin also said he loves animals and that if he's released from jail, he would steal more, the documents said.
Irvin told police that on the night of Jan. 29, he waited until dark, jumped a fence to get onto zoo grounds, cut the metal mesh of an enclosure and took the two emperor tamarin monkeys, according to arrest warrant affidavits .
He then got on the city's light rail before walking to the vacant home where he said he kept his animals.
Police arrested Irving on Thursday a few blocks from The Dallas World Aquarium after he'd been there asking questions about animals at the aquarium and a worker recognized him from news coverage.
Police said have said they are still investigating, but Irvin has not been linked to the suspicious death of an endangered vulture at the zoo in January.
Meanwhile police in Louisiana announced the arrest Tuesday of a 61-year-old man in the case of 12 squirrel monkeys that were discovered missing Jan. 29 from their enclosure at Zoosiana in Broussard, about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge. Police said the missing monkeys haven't yet been found.