22-year-old Weiser man arrested in the death of a Zoo Boise monkey
An arrest has been made in relation to the Patas monkey that died over the weekend. Michael Watkins, 22 of Weiser, has been charged with Felony Burglary and Grand Theft.
Watkins is currently in the custody of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Weiser, Idaho.
“I speak for many of us in the police department and the community who were angered and outraged over this senseless crime," said Chief Michael Masterson of the Boise Police Department. "The loss of this Patas monkey has touched many lives, including our officers and investigators. Officers spent countless hours this weekend and today tracking and developing leads. As usual, it was a combination of a citizen tip and good police work that led us to the arrest in this case.”
Saturday morning, a security guard spotted two men in the zoo around 4:30 a.m., near the primate exhibit. Shortly after the suspects were spotted by security and ran off, a severely injured monkey was found. The animal has since died of it's injuries.
"It's very disturbing that someone would intentionally break into the zoo and harm an animal. We're doing all we can to find who did this." said Sgt. Ted Snyder of the Boise Police Department.
Boise Police said Watkins has some injuries but "the origin and extent of the injuries remain under investigation." They have not yet identified a motive in the killing.
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