Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the disappearance of two emperor tamarins from the Dallas Zoo, authorities said Friday.
Suggestions from the public led investigators to Davion Irvin, who was tracked down at the Dallas Aquarium near animal exhibits Thursday, Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said in a statement.
As officers approached Irvin, he boarded a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) train before being stopped near the 1400 block of Pacific Avenue, police said.
Emperor tamarins were reported stolen from their habitats in it dallas zoo on Monday.
Police blamed tips from the public that led them to the monkeys, Bella and Finn, who were found in the closet of a vacant house in nearby Lancaster on Tuesday. Animals they were not harmedthe officials said.
His disappearance was the latest in a series of suspicious incidents at the zoo. Researchers found an intentional cut in their habitat and previously said they believed they had been taken.
Irvin has been charged with six counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals in the tamarin monkey case, according to Lowman.
The suspect was taken into custody at 11:39 p.m. CT Thursday and held in lieu of $25,000 bail, jail records show.
It was not immediately clear Friday morning whether Irvin had retained or been assigned an attorney.
The police announcement on Friday did not link this arrest to other recent suspicious incidents at the zoo.
On January 21, Pin, a 35-year-old endangered vulture, was found dead with what authorities described as an «unusual wound.» The cause of the animal’s death has not been determined.
On January 13, Nova, a 3-year-old clouded leopard, escaped from her wire-mesh enclosure after being cut, authorities said. The cat, which the zoo said posed no danger to the public, was found later that day.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.