Emperor Tamarin. Photo courtesy of the Dallas Zoo.
A man was arrested Thursday evening in connection with two emperor tamarin monkeys that were stolen from the Dallas Zoo Monday, police say.
Davion Irvin, 24, has been charged with five counts of animal cruelty with a total bond of $25,000, court records show. All five charges are related to the tamarin monkey case, police say.
Police say they were notified that Irvin had been seen near a Dallas World Aquarium animal exhibit Thursday.
When officers responded, Irvin boarded a DART rail. Irvin was later seen again in the 1400 block of Pacific and was taken in for questioning, police say.
Police say a preliminary investigation into the missing monkeys and held from the public identified Irvin as a person with information related to the case, although officers initially declined to name Irvin as a person of interest.
The monkeys found alive — although underweight — in an abandoned home owned by a community church in Lancaster on Tuesday evening.
The family who runs the church recognized photos released of Irvin by Dallas Police as a man who had been seen around the home before around the time of other suspicious animal related incidents, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Police say the investigation into other suspicious occurrences at the Zoo are still under investigation, and further charges are possible.
