Two men are facing animal cruelty and other charges after they were arrested in Baltimore County last week for allegedly obtaining exotic animals, such as a lemur and spider monkey, and profiting from them through photo shoots.
Jayden Evans, 25, and Vernon Crowfey III, 32, were both arrested on July 16 after an undercover police officer booked a shoot with Evans via Instagram, court documents show.
Evans operated a business called Tarzann Exoticz that offered reptiles for sale; displayed them at parties, weddings and other events; and used the animals as props for photo shoots. Crowfey is the photographer, videographer and web designer behind the company Photogeniks and often collaborated with Evans for the reptile photoshoots, authorities said.
Their photo shoot with three women, snakes and a ring of fire at a Towson Town Center parking garage last month put them on the radar of county police, according to charging documents. The records reveal that a mall security officer alerted police that none of the people involved had permission to do the photo shoot, which included setting parts of the parking garage concrete on fire, leaving about $1,500 worth of repair damages.
Surveillance footage and social media posts confirmed Evans’ and Crowfey’s involvement, authorities said. Police said they also learned from social media that the pair obtained the lemur and spider monkey around May from someone in North Carolina on false pretenses, namely that the animals would be used for scientific or educational purposes, according to court records.
Police described the following in charging documents:
A detective reached out to Evans via Instagram to schedule a photo shoot. In his messages with the undercover investigator, Evans mentioned that it was illegal to have the lemur and monkey in Baltimore and that shoots here typically included snakes, iguanas, tegus, tarantulas, scorpions and tortoises.
Still, Evans agreed to do a photo shoot with the lemur and spider monkey for $500. The undercover detective paid a $250 deposit via Cash App, and he and Evans agreed to meet at Double Rock Park in Parkville on July 16.
While walking out of his Middle River apartment with the lemur in a grocery bag and the spider monkey in a mesh carrier, Evans was detained by county police officers. Police conducted a search warrant of his car and property while accompanied by the Animal Service, a nonhuman primate specialist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the FBI.
Police found a bearded dragon, cats, dogs, a green iguana, lizards, rabbits, snakes, a tarantula and tortoises located in glass reptile housing units inside Evans’ home, charging documents show. Court records reveal the USDA said the lemur was malnourished, the spider monkey had delayed motor skills and the green iguana and bearded dragons were in critical life status.
Police said Evans told them in interviews that he fed the animals fruits and Similac formula, but did not take them to routine veterinary visits.
They both face multiple charges, including animal cruelty, selling a fox or skunk as a pet, first-degree malicious burning and destruction of property valued at over $1,000 for the Towson Town Center photo shoot, according to court records.
“The way animals are treated reflects our values as a community, and Baltimore County will not tolerate cruelty or neglect,” Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said in a news release.
Maryland law prohibits the sale, trade, barter, possession, breeding or exchanging of a live nonhuman primate, such as a lemur, monkey, chimpanzee, gorilla or orangutan, by anyone not affiliated with a zoo, research facility or animal sanctuary.
In charging documents, police noted that lemurs and spider monkeys pose public health risks to humans by passing bacterial infections through bites and scratches. Also, people pose health risks to the animals since lemurs have the ability to catch the flu, coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses.
The animals are in the custody of the Maryland Zoo, zoo spokesperson Mike Evitts said.
Evans was being held without bond, while Crowfey, of Baltimore City, posted a $5,000 unsecured personal bond. Neither of them had attorneys listed in online court records. Their most severe charge, first-degree malicious burning, carries up to five years in prison, while they could face 90 days or $1,000 penalties for the animal cruelty and reptile selling charges.
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