California police discovered a monkey driving a Rolls-Royce Ghost when they stopped the vehicle on suspicion of drunk driving.
Officers with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in Madera County stopped the luxury vehicle Monday evening for traveling at an “excessive speed” on Highway 99, authorities said.
The driver, Ali Mused Adelmuhomed, was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of cannabis for sale.
Before his arrest, police found the adorable one-month-old spider monkey, wearing a pink polka dot shirt, in the pocket of the reckless driver’s jacket.
‘A monkey business of the next level!’ the CHP wrote in a Facebook statement.
It is illegal to own primates in California, so police pursued the charge of possession of an exotic animal.
The little monkey was taken by Animal Control to receive proper care and Adelmuhomed was booked into the Madera County Jail.
“With New Year’s Eve just a few hours away, CHP Madera reminds everyone to celebrate,” the CHP said.
Ali Mused Adelmuhomed was arrested on Monday after being stopped for speeding
The driver is now facing several charges, including driving under the influence and possession of an exotic animal
The luxury vehicle in which Adelmuhomed was apprehended is valued at approximately $400,000 and has been towed
The Rolls Royce, worth more than $400,000, was towed away KFDM.
The CHP’s post about the arrest sparked hundreds of online comments, with many commenting on the perpetrator’s “little friend.”
“Awwww, I guess he loves monkeys,” one user commented.
Another chimed in: ‘Omg the monkey is so cute!!’
“I want one,” someone added.
This bizarre incident comes just over a month after an influencer was arrested for a DUI crash in Texas with her spider monkey in the car.
Fashion influencer Brandi Botello had her three-month-old furry friend taken away after she wrecked her car while he was inside.
Police found an adorable one-month-old spider monkey in the reckless driver’s pocket
The little monkey was taken by animal protection to receive proper care
The spider monkey, named Jorgie Boy, was taken to Funky Monkey Ranch near Burleson after the accident, where staff said he had rickets.
He weighs just six pounds – half what a spider monkey his age should – and had minor bone fractures due to metabolic bone disease caused by poor nutrition.
Botello begged police to return Jorgie Boy after Dallas police found them in a car crash in the early morning of November 9.
Jorgie Boy was sleeping on her lap when the vehicle hit the curb so hard that the wheels flew off, but the monkey was not injured by the impact.
She said: ‘The last few days have been the hardest days of my life, I am devastated. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t sit still.
‘I’m so used to waking up every morning with him hugging my face. We do everything together, we share food, we take baths together. I am willing to continue doing my utmost to get him home again.
“It breaks my heart to know that he’s probably in a cage and he’s never been in one before he’s with me 24/7.”
The driver was also charged with possession of cannabis for sale and taken to the Madera County Jail
Botello was charged with drink-driving, but claimed it was a “very intoxicated” young man behind the wheel and that she moved into the driver’s seat just before police arrived.
Botello admitted that she was drunk and passed out in the passenger seat and should not have put herself and Jorgie Boy in that situation, but called it “one mistake.”
Dallas police turned the monkey over to the city of Irving, where Botello lives, who took him to a wildlife sanctuary.
Botello fought to get him back.