The last remaining charges have been dismissed in the case of a man accused of slashing enclosures and stealing animals during a string of crimes at the Dallas Zoo in 2023.
Two felony burglary charges were dropped in early June against 27-year-old Davion Irvin, according to court records obtained Thursday by The Dallas Morning News. The news comes nearly two years after all six misdemeanor charges were thrown out as Irvin was repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial.
Documents show Irvin has since completed an inpatient competency restoration program at a state hospital. He had already spent more time in the hospital and county jail than the maximum punishment for his alleged crimes, the orders for dismissal said.
“The defendant has successfully engaged in mental health services in the community,” officials with the Dallas County district attorney’s office wrote in the order.
Irvin was released from jail on bond in February and placed under house arrest, records state. He is no longer required to use electronic monitoring, but other bond conditions listed in the filings barred him from alcohol, drugs, deadly weapons and any form of contact or communication with the zoo.
It was unclear how long Irvin would be on bond; officials said it would be up to the court to decide when to release him.
The district attorney’s office declined to comment beyond what was written in the dismissal. The Dallas Zoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related
The first major incident at the zoo took place Jan. 13, 2023, when a clouded leopard named Nova disappeared from an enclosure that had been intentionally cut open. After an hourslong search, Nova was found unharmed and reunited with her sister, Luna.
Later, a similar cut was found on a habitat for the zoo’s langur monkeys, none of which escaped.
On Jan. 21, just over a week after Nova’s disappearance, Pin, an endangered lappet-faced vulture, was found dead.
Nine days after Pin’s death, two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, were taken from the zoo. The pair was found alive about 33 hours later in a vacant home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of the zoo. They were returned to their habitat after several weeks of recovery in quarantine.
On Feb. 2, 2023, Irvin was arrested on charges of burglary and animal cruelty in the incidents involving the clouded leopard and stolen monkeys. According to a police spokeswoman, Irvin was also connected to the cut enclosure for the langur monkeys.
Police wrote in an arrest-warrant affidavit that Irvin had been asking zoo staff “obscure” questions about animals in the days before the monkeys were stolen. He went on to tell investigators he did it because he loves animals, and if released from jail, he’d return to the zoo and steal again.
