Monkey given amphetamines 'doing amazing' at sanctuary. Former owner gets probation

A capuchin monkey, which prosecutors say was given drugs by its former owner, has made great strides living with other monkeys in an animal sanctuary in Florida.

"He is doing amazing," said Kari Bagnall, founder and executive director of the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Gainesville, Florida. "We're really happy with his progress."

The monkey's former owner, Adam Kordes, pleaded guilty last month to a single count of cruelty to animals. He was sentenced on Dec. 19 to one year of probation and ordered to forfeit "Neo" − a black-capped capuchin monkey − to the sanctuary.

As part of his sentence, Kordes, 34, may keep two snakes he currently owns and may in the future own cats and dogs, but he is not allowed to own any other animals, according to documents filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

Kordes was also charged with illegally possessing a gun, after authorities found a shotgun in his apartment during the execution of a search warrant in March. He is not allowed to possess a weapon because he was deemed incompetent to stand trial several years ago in a vehicular homicide case.

Court records show the illegal gun possession charge was dismissed due to Kordes' conviction and sentencing in the animal cruelty case.

Kordes' attorney has yet to respond to a message from The Enquirer requesting comment.

In court filings, prosecutors said that when officers executed a search warrant at Kordes' Westwood apartment in February, they found Neo "very lethargic and underweight." The monkey later tested positive for amphetamines and caffeine, the court records state.

The monkey, worth as much as $20,000, was seized by officers with Cincinnati Animal Care. In early February, the organization received a tip from a veterinarian in Florida who alleged Neo had been given illegal drugs.

After Neo was removed from Kordes' care, former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said, the monkey "went into rehab" in Indiana for a month. Neo got better, Deters said, and was transferred to a Florida facility.

When he first arrived, the sanctuary faced some challenges caring for Neo. Usually, the sanctuary assigns younger monkeys who were confiscated due to abuse or neglect to a "surrogate mom," a female monkey which has raised others in the past, Bagnall said.

Bagnall said that monkey will offer her back to the new arrivals and carry them around. "But when she offered her back to (Neo), he couldn't cling," she said.

Instead, Neo had humans act as his surrogate parents, who helped him learn to climb and do other things that didn't come naturally to him, Bagnall said.

"I've never dealt with a drug addicted monkey," said Bagnall, whose nonprofit sanctuary cares for 218 monkeys, over 100 of which are capuchins.

Neo was later introduced to a 30-year-old monkey, Kooda, another pet monkey who was fed inappropriately. Her growth is stunted and she suffers from metabolic bone disease.

"They are getting along great together," Bagnall said. "It worked out great, because he wasn't intimidated by a larger monkey. And she was just happy to dote on him and groom him and take care of him."

Neo is now living in a three-story habitat, where he's been climbing and running, and the sanctuary is preparing to introduce him to a 3-year-old monkey named Daisy.

The sanctuary didn't even know Neo's name when he arrived, Bagnall said, so he was given a new one: Scotty.

Enquirer reporter Kevin Grasha contributed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Monkey, given drugs, 'doing amazing' at sanctuary. Former owner sentenced