Man pleads guilty to stealing endangered lemur after breaking into California zoo
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Many people leave the zoo with a souvenir in tow, whether a stuffed elephant or cute keychain from the gift shop.
But Aquinas Kasbar didn’t settle for a stuffed animal, authorities said.
Instead, he selected North America’s oldest-living ring-tailed lemur, Isaac, and broke into the Santa Ana Zoo after hours to steal the endangered animal, according to authorities.
Kasbar, 19, of Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty on Monday to unlawfully taking an endangered species.
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His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, where he'll face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in federal prison. His federal punishment will be carried out concurrently with any sentence resulting from the state charges.
According to Kasbar’s plea agreement, he broke into the Santa Ana Zoo on July 27, 2018, using a pair of bolt cutters to get into the zoo’s enclosures for lemurs and capuchin monkeys.
Several of the animals initially escaped, though zookeepers and animal control officers were able to recover most of them.
In the chaos, Kasbar took 32-year-old Isaac (who has exceeded the average life expectancy of a lemur by seven to 12 years) to keep as a pet, putting him in a plastic drawer without ventilation holes for the rest of the evening.
The next day, he left the lemur in front of a Marriott hotel in Newport Beach and placed two notes on top of the plastic drawer that read: “Lemur (with tracker)” and “This belongs to the Santa Ana Zoo it was taken last night please bring it to police.”
Isaac was eventually returned to the zoo unharmed, but Kasbar’s actions put a member of one of the 25 most endangered primate species in danger and resulted in a loss of approximately $8,486 to the Santa Ana Zoo, according to federal prosecutors.
“I would just emphasize that my client quickly regretted his action and took action that night to ensure that the lemur was returned safely to the zoo,” defense attorney Brian Gurwitz said.
This is not the only charge against Kasbar.
In December, he was charged with committing five burglaries in Newport Beach. This increased to 29 in April, when further investigation yielded evidence of additional burglaries.
Authorities say Kasbar broke into high-end homes to steal jewelry and other valuable items.
He also faces one count of attempted burglary and charges of having burglary tools and resisting arrest.
Information from City News Service was used in this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Man pleads guilty to stealing endangered lemur after breaking into California zoo
