Suspect in theft of Dallas Zoo tamarin monkeys is indicted on felony burglary charges

Editor's Note: (February 9, 2024): Since this story was published, prosecutors have asked for the dismissal of six misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against Davion Irvin, saying he has been in custody longer than any possible sentence for 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.

The man who investigators say is connected to a string of unusual animal habitat tamperings at the Dallas Zoo - including the alleged theft of two tamarin monkeys - was indicted Tuesday on felony burglary charges, court records show.

Davion Irvin, 24, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of burglary to a building, the records show. Dallas police have said the charges relate to the suspected theft in late January of the tamarin monkeys and the mid-January disappearance of a clouded leopard from its enclosure after its fence had been cut.

Irvin also is facing six misdemeanor counts of non-livestock animal cruelty in connection with the monkeys, according to police.

Irvin was arrested February 2, just days after police say the tamarin monkeys were intentionally taken from their zoo enclosure, which had been cut open. 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 disappeared and "did then and there commit a theft."

CNN has sought comment from Irvin's public defender.