Some charges dismissed after man charged in Dallas Zoo caper is found incompetent to stand trial
DALLAS– Animal cruelty charges were dropped this week against a 25-year-old man accused of taking two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo after he was found incompetent to stand trial, but he remains in custody and continues to face two burglary charges related to what had been mysterious. incidents there last year.
Davion Irvin has been transferred to a state hospital and remains incompetent to stand trial, according to court records. Prosecutors said in Monday’s filings that they were dismissing six animal cruelty charges against Irvin because he had already spent the maximum time allowed in prison for the sentence on those charges.
The Dallas County district attorney’s office said Friday that because a year had passed and his jurisdiction had not yet been restored, prosecutors were required by law to dismiss the felony cases.
Irvin still faces two burglary charges, one related to taking the monkeys and one related to the escape of a clouded leopard named Nova.
Irvin was arrested last February after a strange series of events that began weeks earlier, when zoo officials discovered Nova’s enclosure had been cut and she was missing. After a search that closed the zoo, Nova was found near her habitat later that day. The same day, a similar gash was found in a langur monkey enclosure, but none had emerged.
About two weeks later, two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, went missing from their enclosure. Dallas police released a photo and video of a man they wanted to talk to in the case, later identified as Irvin. Those images led to a tip that led police to a vacant house where Bella and Finn were found.
Irvin was arrested two days later after he asked questions about animals at a Dallas aquarium and an employee recognized him. After his arrest, Irvin told police he loved animals and that if he were released from jail he would steal even more, according to an arrest affidavit.
About a week after Nova’s escape, a vulture named Pin was found dead. Police had not linked Irvin to Pin’s death, and on Friday the zoo said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had determined that the punctures and cuts on Pin’s back were consistent with a predator, possibly a feline.
Dallas County jail records showed Irvin remained in custody Friday. Attorneys for Irvin did not respond to requests for comment Friday.