Monkeys foil 7-month crime spree
Drunk and trying to impress a girl, John Casford went into the squirrel monkey enclosure at Wellington Zoo to capture one.
He did not count on the monkeys getting the better of him.
By the time the incident was over, Casford had a broken leg, a broken tooth and multiple bruises from trying to get away.
And Wellington’s squirrel monkeys had put an end to a mini-crime spree that Casford had been on for seven months.
At his sentencing yesterday, Wellington District Court judge Bill Hastings said Casford had got in through an insecure gate before cutting off two padlocks on April 6. Casford had intended to capture one of the small primates to take home to his girlfriend but was unsuccessful.
‘‘I don’t know what happened in the enclosure. You know and the squirrel monkeys know, but I don’t speak squirrel [monkey],’’ Judge Hastings said.
By daybreak all the monkeys were distressed, two were injured and Casford had a broken leg, fractured teeth and bruises on his back.
He was jailed for two years and seven months.
During an earlier restorative justice hearing, the zookeepers told Casford the monkeys were traumatised and one still experienced stress.
Casford had risked the death of one of the monkeys if he had managed to catch one, as well as a biohazard if any monkeys had been let loose, Hastings said. ‘‘You targeted a living creature.’’
Casford had pleaded guilty to the burglary of the zoo, as well as three charges of common assault, two of wilful damage, assault with intent to injure, injuring with intent to injure and a breach of community work. His crime spree started back in December 2017.
His lawyer, John Dean, said Casford had been a wastrel, but wanted to get on with his life and get over the ghastly years where he has been wreaking havoc. Dean said Casford had been completely over-imbued with alcohol and was trying to impress a girl.