Man 'Bitten' By Monkey Out Of Hospital, Owner May Face Charges

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4)- A South Florida resident is out of the hospital after he said he was bitten by a monkey. Meanwhile, investigators are debating whether to press charges against the owner.

Reloys Casas left the hospital Wednesday after tangling with a monkey that randomly appeared in his friend's kitchen Tuesday night.

"I was cutting some pork meat and the backdoor was open," Casas told CBS4's David Sutta. "All the sudden I feel an animal on my neck and it's a monkey. I noticed when he was like blowing and biting in my ear."

The monkey, a black and white capuchin, apparently slipped in the back door, possibly for a bite to eat.

As Casas swiped to get the monkey off of him she bit his ear, he said.

"I had to go to the hospital because they were not sure if the animal had rabies," Casas said. "They didn't know where he had come from.

While Casas spent the night at the hospital for five shots, Miami-Dade's Venom 1 Unit had to coax 'Curious George' off the rooftop with a banana.

It turns out the monkey came from the neighbor's house.

The owner, Espy, who would only tell Sutta her first name, told CBS4 that this is the first time that the monkey has been involved in such an incident.

"It was accidental and it never happened before, which I heard you guys say it happened before," she said. "It has never happened before."

Espy said the animal was in her cage.

When Sutta asked her what happened, she said she is looking for answers herself.

"I don't know," Espy said. "I don't know. We are inspecting the cage to see what happened."

Florida Fish and Wildlife investigators are debating whether to press charges.

"The laws are pretty simple," LT. Albert Maza said. "You have got to have a permit. To get a permit from the state you have to follow strict guidelines and caging requirements."

Neighbors said they had no idea the monkey lived in the neighborhood.

"It's incredible. We have kids here in the neighborhood and my kids are always playing out here all the time. That's kind of irresponsible." Oscar Marante said.

Casas agreed. He is just hoping this is the end of the story.

"Let's see," he said. "God willing the animal won't have rabies."

Meanwhile, Espy said she hopes to have her monkey back soon.

Casas said he plans on keeping his doors closed to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again.