Arrest Made In Connection With Lemur Stolen From San Francisco Zoo
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – An arrest has been made in connection with an endangered ring-tailed lemur that was stolen from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo earlier this week and found a day later.
Police said Friday that 30-year-old Cory McGilloway of Los Angeles was arrested and booked in San Rafael late Thursday night on an unrelated matter. McGilloway will be transported to San Francisco County Jail where he will be booked on multiple charges, including burglary, grand theft of an animal, looting and vandalism.
"He will face charges for the burglary and the theft of Maki," San Francisco Police Lt. Scott Ryan said at a press briefing on Friday. "We did receive a couple of very important tips from our tip line, and all the information was corroborated and helped in our investigation."
Zoo officials said the 21-year-old lemur, named "Maki," was discovered missing from the Lipman Family Lemur Forest habitat on Wednesday morning. Police later confirmed that a crime had occurred and was connected to the lemur's disappearance.
"The enclosure where Maki is housed is a secure space that's under lock and key and that enclosure was damaged and forced open to get the lemur," SFPD spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca said Wednesday.
The next day, the lemur was found about four miles from the zoo in neighboring Daly City. Elaine Liu told KPIX 5 that she and her son's kindergarten friends saw Maki in a park Thursday afternoon.
"The kids were all watching the Lemur walking around and we found it sitting in one of the playhouses," Liu recalled.
The animal was successfully captured and was brought home by zoo staff.
We found Maki, the stolen lemur from @sfzoo!! Around 5pm, we got a report he was in the playground area of the Hope Lutheran Church. We contained him until staff from the zoo took him back home. Here is Officer Haas with Maki.
— Daly City Police (@DalyCityPD) October 16, 2020
We are grateful Maki is home safely! pic.twitter.com/U5rB2RnIxC
"While he's back here, he's still agitated, dehydrated and hungry. We're working with our vet teams and wellness teams to get him back to health," San Francisco Zoo CEO Tanya Peterson said at Friday's briefing.
"He's socially distancing from his primate family, but we hope to get him returning back to his family soon," Peterson went on to say.
The zoo had offered a $2,100 reward in the case, but it was not immediately clear who would receive the reward.
According to Marin County jail records, McGilloway was also booked on charges of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, receiving stolen property and shoplifting.
Police said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact SFPD at 415-575-444 or via text at "TIP411," with the message starting with "SFPD."