Santa Ana Zoo's 'Tarzan' Intruder Ordered To Mental Hospital

SANTA ANA (AP) — A man who claimed to be Tarzan, climbed a tree and tried to reach the monkey exhibit at an Orange County zoo has been sent to a mental hospital.

John Rodenborn, 37, was ordered into a state facility Thursday after being found mentally unfit to aid in his own defense. He's facing misdemeanor charges of possessing a controlled substance and improperly entering an animal closure.

Rodenborn was arrested in August after a zookeeper reported that a shirtless, mud-plastered man claiming to be Tarzan had climbed 20 feet up a tree and was trying to get into the monkey exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo.

Rodenborn also is facing charges that he stole a mobile phone and robbed a gas station at gunpoint in separate incidents.