Prosecutors file to dismiss charges against man accused of stealing Dallas Zoo monkeys

DALLAS — Dallas County prosecutors this week filed to dismiss charges against the man who was accused of stealing monkeys from the Dallas Zoo just over one year ago.

Davion Irvin was arrested and charged in the January 2023 theft, but he was later found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

In court filings on Feb. 5, assistant district attorney Kristin Wade wrote that Irvin “is mentally ill and was found incompetent to stand trial” and that he was ordered to a state hospital.

Wade wrote that Irving “remains incompetent” but had already spent the maximum time allowed for punishment in the case in the county jail.

“Therefore the State must dismiss this case,” Wade wrote.

Irvin was indicted in March 2023 in the breaking-in and theft of two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo.

In August, it was revealed that he was found incompetent to stand trial.

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states a person is incompetent to stand trial if they don’t have sufficient present ability to consult with their lawyer with a degree of rational understanding and a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against them.

Upon being found incompetent, the code states the state “may dismiss all charges pending against the defendant.” The defendant may also be either released on bail or committed to either a jail-based competency restoration program or a mental health facility.

A grand jury had indicted Irvin on two counts of burglary in the break-in and thefts of the monkeys in January 2023. Irvin also faced six misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty in the case, jail records showed.

On Jan. 31, 2023, the monkeys were found inside a closet at an abandoned building in Lancaster. A tipster alerted police to the possibility of monkeys being inside the building, which had been the subject of a previous investigation involving exotic animals being kept there.

The monkeys, named Bella and Finn, were found uninjured and were returned home to the zoo.

Two days later, Irvin was arrested after someone reported to police that he was at the Dallas World Aquarium and checking out the mesh enclosures there. Police were wanting to speak with Irvin about the zoo incident after surveillance video showed him near where the monkeys disappeared.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Irvin told police that he took the monkeys from the zoo and then onto a DART train as he fled the area.

Irvin told police at the time that he loves animals and that he would steal more, if he was released from jail, the affidavit said.