What started with a car crash in Northwest Dallas ended with a DWI arrest and a spider monkey being confiscated by police. NBC 5’s Maria Guerrero spoke to the owner of the exotic animal as she fights the charge and tries to get her pet back.
What started as a single-vehicle crash in Northwest Dallas ended with an arrest for DWI and a spider monkey on board being confiscated by police.
The owner of the exotic animal says she’s not only fighting the allegations leveled against her but she is desperately trying to get her beloved monkey back.
“I love him. I dress him up every day. I change his diapers, I shower him,” said a tearful Brandi Botello. “I just want him home. I don’t feel like he should be anywhere but home. He’s more than just a monkey to me, he’s like my child.”
Botello, a social media influencer, fears she may never see Jorgie Boy again.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Police confiscated her two-and-a-half-year-old spider monkey following a suspected drunk driving crash in Dallas over the weekend.
The Dallas Police Department confirms the crash in the 9900 block of Harry Hines Boulevard ended with an arrest for DWI.
According to a statement from police: "The preliminary investigation determined that the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated. The driver was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
While police will not publicly identify the driver, Botello admits she’s the one charged with driving under the influence, but claims she wasn’t behind the wheel during the crash. She said she was intoxicated and passed out in the passenger seat holding Jorgie Boy.
“I didn’t even know what was going on. I slept through the car accident. I didn’t even know we were in an accident,” she said. “I wasn’t driving.”
She said the driver was a male acquaintance who was charged with public intoxication. “He was very drunk,” said Botello.
NBC 5 was unable to independently verify the name Botello gave on Wednesday.
When she came to, Botello said the vehicle had hit a curb. The front tires ended up nearby on the pavement.
However, she does admit to moving into the driver’s seat after the initial crash.
“I hopped over to the driver’s seat. I didn’t know we crashed in front of the police station. When I turned around there was a cop right there and he was trying to accuse me of driving, but I wasn’t driving,” she said.
Botello insists she has eyewitnesses and surveillance video that will corroborate her story.
Dallas PD said because no one was on hand to take the monkey, officers handed him over to Irving Animal Services, the city listed as Botello’s address.
A spokesperson for Irving police confirmed to NBC 5 that the city turned the monkey over to an animal sanctuary, as is common practice when dealing with exotic animals, which are not allowed in Irving.
Her large Instagram following now calls for Jorgie Boy to be ‘freed.’
“It’s just a lesson learned,” she said.
Botello says Jorgie Boy is microchipped and she is prepared to seek proper permits in Dallas where she currently lives. “I’m sick to my stomach. I’m lost for words. I learned my lesson bad.”
When asked if the lesson is not to be blackout drunk in a car with a drunk driver, she replied, “No, just in general not having [Jorgie Boy] around a situation like that.”
She says Jorgie Boy is a “ladies’ man” and loves Tex-Mex food.
The spider monkey even has his own Instagram page which includes photographs of him dressed up, at dance clubs and enjoying treats like bananas.
Jorgie Boy will turn three years old in February, she said.
By ‘owning up’ to what she says was a mistake, Botello hopes to be reunited with her beloved ‘baby’ and that her story serves as a lesson for all drivers.
“Whether it’s a child, or an animal, you shouldn’t be doing things like that,” she said. “There’s a lot of consequences and it could’ve been worse.”
