The Dallas Police Department on Friday announced an arrest has been made in connection to the theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo on Monday. 

On Thursday, the department said, officers took 24-year-old Davion Irvin into custody.

What You Need To Know

  • The Dallas Police Department on Friday announced an arrest has been made in connection to the theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo on Monday

  • Davion Irvin, 24, is charged with six counts of animal cruelty. Police spotted Irvin on Thursday at Dallas World Aquarium, near animal exhibits

  • The two monkeys were located on Tuesday in an abandoned house. They have since returned to the zoo and did not suffer any apparent injuries

  • Police are trying to determine if a string of incidents over the last few weeks at the zoo are related or not

Irvin earlier in the week was sought for questioning. On Thursday, police received a tip that he was seen at Dallas World Aquarium, near animal exhibits. When officers arrived, Irvin boarded a DART rail. Officers caught up with him, took him into custody and questioned him at Jack Evans Headquarters.

Irvin is charged with six counts of animal cruelty, and more charges may be coming. He’s currently at Dallas County Jail. An investigation is ongoing.

The two small monkeys — named Bella and Finn — on Tuesday were located in a vacant house. They had lost weight but showed no sign of injury, the Dallas Zoo said.

The zoo said Wednesday on Twitter that both Bella and Finn “started eating and drinking almost immediately" after they were examined, and the two were “so happy to snuggle in their nest sack” on Tuesday night.

“We will continue to monitor them closely, but for now, we’re so glad they are safe and back with us,” the zoo said in a Wednesday statement.

Police are also trying to determine if the string of incidents over the last few weeks at the zoo are related or not.

On Jan. 13, arriving workers found that a clouded leopard named Nova was missing from her cage, and police said that a cutting tool had been intentionally used to make an opening in her enclosure. The zoo closed as a search for her got underway, and she was found later that day near her habitat.

Zoo workers had also found a similar gash in an enclosure for langur monkeys, though none got out or appeared harmed, police said.

On Jan. 21, workers arriving at the zoo found an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin dead. Gregg Hudson, the zoo's president and CEO, called the death “very suspicious” and said the vulture had “a wound," but declined to give further details.

The zoo said in its Wednesday statement that the incidents over the last few weeks have led officials there to “take a a hard look” at security measures, saying that while what they've had in place has worked in the past “it has become obvious that we need to make significant changes.”