The thief who didn't bargain for the solidarity of monkeys

The thief who didn't bargain for the solidarity of monkeys
By Michael McCarthy Environment Editor Independent UK
Published: 24 March 2007

It was all for one and one for all when SpongeBob the monkey was snatched from his zoo cage. His fellow monkeys attacked the kidnapper and drew blood - and this led to the thief's downfall.

Marlon Brown, 23, was convicted yesterday of stealing SpongeBob, an endangered Bolivian squirrel monkey, from his enclosure at Chessington World of Adventures. Brown had denied the theft but the blood found in SpongeBob's cage proved he played a part in the theft, Kingston Crown Court was told.

SpongeBob's kidnapping last July sparked a nationwide campaign requesting the public's help to find him. The primate was spotted by a member of the public two days later, playing with children in Brixton, south London. He was handed in to the local police station and suspicion fell on Brown, who was later arrested.

He told the court how he had entered Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey last summer with a group of friends and that they had stayed past closing time and ended up in the zoo section.

His friends had asked to borrow his bag while he was enjoying the antics of the spider monkeys. Brown, who could not name the seven or eight others who accompanied him to the park, said he saw two friends leaving the monkey enclosure with SpongeBob tucked into his rucksack.

Brown also claimed he had been injured as he tried to retrieve items from the cage that had fallen out of his bag while SpongeBob was captured.

"One of the monkeys jumped on to my back. I tried to brush it off and it bit me on my thumb," Brown said. "I told them to put him back but they wouldn't listen. I thought he was going to die."

But the jury did not believe him and took 20 minutes to find him guilty. Brown was released on bail and ordered to return to court on 29 March for sentencing. He was told all sentencing options remained open, including custody.

Sonia Freeman, a zoo-keeper at Chessington, said: "We are delighted with the outcome of this case and look forward to hearing about the sentencing next week. SpongeBob was brought to Chessington as part of an endangered species breeding programme and we had hopes for his breeding success.

"The futile actions of Mr Brown and his friends have had ongoing serious consequences not only for Spon-geBob but also for the rest of the group and we are very happy that Mr Brown has been found guilty for being so cruel and irresponsible."

Sadly for SpongeBob, he was rejected by the other spider monkeys at Chessington Zoo after returning from his ordeal. He now lives in the zoo at Battersea Park, south London, where he is doing well.