Who Is Quinn Kasbar? New Details On The Orange County Teen Who Stole Endangered Lemur Isaac
He snatched a zoo treasure and is facing serious consequences.
Santa Ana Police Department In today's "strange news that's not from Florida," an Orange County man pleaded guilty to several charges after he snatched a critically endangered ring-tailed lemur from the Santa Ana Zoo. Quinn Kasbar has allegedly been responsible for a spate of burglaries in the Orange County area, but he made the national news for his thievery of a rare ring-tailed lemur from the Santa Ana Zoo. Fortunately, the lemur has been recovered safe and sound, and returned to the zoo and the “family” that cares for it. Unfortunately for its alleged kidnapper, however, he’s looking down the barrel of a series of serious charges — including a federal charge!
Quinn Kasbar is proof positive that crime doesn’t pay. Let’s look at what else we know about this not-so-smooth criminal. Who is Quinn Kasbar?
1. He was allegedly responsible for a string of robberies on Balboa Island
According to The Los Angeles Times, the name Quinn Kasbar is familiar to locals because he was allegedly responsible for a string of robberies on the tony Balboa Island. At the time, in mid-May, he was charged with 29 felony and three misdemeanor counts, including burglary and attempted burglary. He allegedly committed the crimes between May and December of last year and left the residents of the quiet bedroom community “shaken” by his actions.
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2. He allegedly stole the lemur from the zoo last year
According to the OC Register, Quinn Kasbar allegedly stole the lemur from the Santa Ana Zoo on July 27, 2018, which falls into the timeline of the spate of robberies he’d committed. He also used a bolt cutter to get into the container containing a bunch of capuchin monkeys, but he didn’t take any of them. The outlet reports that Quinn Kasbar allegedly wanted to keep the lemur as a pet, though it’s unclear how he planned to take care of it.
3. He abandoned the lemur the next day
According to CBS Los Angeles, Quinn Kasbar abandoned the 32-year-old lemur — whose name, cutely enough, is Isaac — outside of a Newport Beach hotel. He put Isaac in a box with a note saying, “this belongs to the Santa Ana Zoo. It was taken last night. Please bring it to police.” Isaac is the oldest living lemur in the world today, and fortunately for all involved, he’s okay. But Corp. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department says that Kasbar isn’t going to be as lucky. “They got information that he was bragging to an individual that he had committed that burglary and taken a lemur and there was evidence that proved that fact,” he told the outlet. “Unfortunately for [Kasbar] he took an endangered animal and now he’s going to have to pay the price.”
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4. The Feds are now involved because Quinn Kasbar took an endangered species
According to Heavy.com, the reason the Feds are involved with the Quinn Kasbar case is because he took a “critically endangered species,” which was declared as such due to the illegal pet trade. “This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Newport Beach Police Department, and the Santa Ana Police Departments” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said to the outlet. “This matter is being prosecuted by the Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Ahn of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Erik M. Silber of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.”
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.