Editor's note: (February 9, 2024): Since this story was published, prosecutors have asked for the dismissal of six misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty against Davion Irvin, saying he has been in custody longer than any possible sentence on those charges. Two felony charges of burglary of a building are pending and he is still incarcerated, records show. Irvin's case is on hold indefinitely after he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial last year.
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The man who investigators say is linked to a series of unusual alterations of animal habitat at the Dallas Zoo, including the alleged theft of two tamarin monkeys, was formally charged Tuesday with felony theft, court records show .
Davion Irvin, 24, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of burglary of a building, records show. Dallas police have said the charges relate to the alleged theft in late January of the tamarin monkeys and the mid-January disappearance of a clouded leopard from his enclosure after its fence was cut.
According to police, Irvin also faces six misdemeanor charges of non-livestock animal cruelty in connection with the monkeys.
Irvin was arrested on Feb. 2, just days after police said the tamarin monkeys were intentionally removed from their zoo enclosure, which had been opened. Two days before Irvin's arrest, police found the monkeys unharmed in the closet of a Dallas-area home.
The indictment alleges that Irvin entered a building without the zoo's consent on the day the monkeys went missing and “committed a robbery there and then.”
CNN has sought comment from Irvin's public defender.
The suspect was arrested after being seen at the Dallas World Aquarium, where investigators “believe he was looking to commit another crime,” a police spokesperson said in February.
Investigators also accuse Irvin of entering the Dallas Zoo in the early morning hours of Jan. 13 and cutting the fence surrounding the habitat of a clouded leopard named Nova, allegedly with the intention of taking the animal, according to warrant affidavits. arrest.
Irvin allegedly told investigators he petted the leopard, but the 25-pound animal jumped too high in its enclosure and he couldn't catch it, according to the affidavits. He left the enclosure, but the leopard escaped through the cut he allegedly made, prompting the zoo to close to the public and conduct an hours-long search for the animal, which was found near its habitat later that day.
In the snow leopard case, the indictment alleges that Irvin had the “intent to commit robbery.”
The strange escapes were part of a series of other suspicious incidents involving animals at the zoo, including cuts made in the enclosure of some langur monkeys and the death of a vulture under “unusual” circumstances, the zoo said.
Police said they believe Irvin is connected to the langur monkey case, but not the vulture death. No charges have been announced in the langur monkey case.
In response to the events, the zoo stepped up its security, including installing more cameras and increasing patrols and night staff.
Irvin is being held in a Dallas County jail with bail set at $130,000, jail records show.
