Monkey Business: Teens Plead Guilty to Stealing Zoo Animals

By: Kealan Oliver
Topics: Daily Blotter

A monkey stolen from the West Palm Beach Zoo. (WPEC)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS/AP) Three teen boys pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing animals from the Palm Beach Zoo in September, and abdandoning them in cages and containers in a shed.

Jonathan Lopez and Sean Patrick Harrison, both 18, and Magdiel Cortes, 19, pleaded guilty to lesser charges of burglary of a structure, grand theft over $300 and misdemeanor cruelty to animals in exchange for of four years probation and 500 hours of community service.

They were facing felony charges of burglary and animal cruelty. They were also ordered to pay $1,200 each in restitution.

Lopez, Harrison and Cortes took Elsie, a Goeldi's monkey, and Chalupa, a green-cheeked Amazon parrot, and squirrel monkeys Simone, Sallie and Dougie.

Police found the animals in less than 24 hours.

CBS affiliate WPEC reported that the zoo's curator of live collections, Keith Lovett, said it took the animals several months to recover from the stress they suffered. Due to the hot conditions one of the monkeys encountered, he now has some kidney problems.

Lovett said, "We hope the defendants learn from this experience. We hope they realize their actions did have strong consequences, especially to the animals," reported WPEC.

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by LABLVR April 22, 2010 12:12 PM EDT

Did these kids think (of course they didn't THINK!) this was a funny prank? Did they believe they might be able to sell the animals? What a bunch of sorry A** losers! Sadly, we all know that next to nothing will happen to these punks. No, they didn't learn anything, except maybe to try harder not to get caught when the next idiotic notion strikes them. Yet again our "justice" system failed to enforce the law - a bargain was struck and the kids get off with a slap on the wrist. Pathetic.

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by DFNKJA September 28, 2010 12:20 PM EDT: first of all lablvr not to defend but i m sure you did your bad things during your time AND MAYBE YOU GOT COUGHT THATS WHY YOUR SO AGRESSIVE .. and "OUR" JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS FAILED IN MANY OTHER WORSE OCCASSIONS. AND FOR YOU TO BE SPEAKING THE WAY YOU ARE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A "LOSER" YOUR SELF.!ME MY SELF I DO THINK THEY DESERVE PUNISHMENT THE ANIMALS WERE NOT FOUND DEAD, THEY WERE HURT SO I THINK WITH A GOOD FAIR SCARE WOULD BE ENOUGH, BUT ITS NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE KILLERS AND RAPIST THAT ARE OUT ON THE STREET, PUT INTO PRISON AND OUT THE FOLLOWING MONTH .