Judge: Monkey will not be returned to its owner who is accused of giving it drugs

A judge has ruled that a monkey seized in February from a Westwood man accused of animal cruelty will not be returned to the man.

At a hearing Wednesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Judge Christian Jenkins found that authorities did not follow the law after taking the then-6-month-old capuchin monkey from Adam Kordes.

State law says a “probable cause hearing” before a judge must be held within 10 days of the seizure to determine if it was likely that a crime had been committed.

That hearing never happened, and animal control officers did not provide Kordes with written notice of his right to the hearing. The head of the county dog warden’s office, which handles animal control issues on behalf of Cincinnati Animal Care, testified Wednesday that they don’t provide written notice of the hearing when they already have a search warrant.

More: Deters: Monkey at center of animal cruelty case completed drug rehab and is now 'thriving'

Jenkins said animal control officers were not at fault because of how they viewed the law, which the head of the dog warden’s office described as ambiguous.

They acted “in good faith,” Jenkins said, based on a fair interpretation of the law.

Kordes’ attorney, Lisa Rabanus, said in court that the agency had “arbitrarily declared a policy” that doesn’t follow the law.

It “specifically states that in order of a law enforcement agency to continue to hold the animal,” Rabanus said, “(the agency) must follow these procedures.”

Jenkins agreed that the law requires a hearing to be held within 10 days after an animal is seized.

Wednesday’s hearing, Jenkins said, served as a probable cause hearing. He found that enough evidence had been presented – including testimony that the monkey, named "Neo," tested positive for amphetamines and was underweight, lethargic and “screaming in pain” when officers took him from Kordes.

Jenkins said Neo is now considered evidence in the animal cruelty case, and authorities have the right to retain him.

Kordes, 34, faces up to a year in prison on a felony charge of cruelty to a companion animal. He also faces a charge of illegally possessing a gun, because a shotgun was found in his apartment.

Prosecutor Joe Deters has previously said that Neo completed drug “rehab.” The monkey is now living at a sanctuary in Florida with other capuchin monkeys.

The case began in early February, when Cincinnati Animal Care received a tip from a veterinarian in Florida who had seen video of Neo and believed the monkey had been given illegal drugs.

Rabanus said Neo had gotten into chocolate.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Judge: Monkey will not be returned to man accused of drugging it