Today, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters announced the indictment of Adam Kordes for one count of Cruel Treatment against Companion Animals (F5). Kordes was previously indicted for one count of Having Weapons Under Disability (F3) relating to this investigation. If convicted on all charges, Kordes faces the maximum possible sentence of 4 years in prison.

On February 2, 2022, Cincinnati Animal Care officers received a tip from a veterinarian in Florida that a Capuchin monkey, owned by Kordes, had been given illicit drugs. When officers responded to the address provided, they found the Capuchin monkey, Neo, severely malnourished. Blood tests conducted on Neo confirmed the presence of amphetamines.

Officers returned to Kordes’s home on March 4, 2022 and found him in possession of a 12-guage shotgun. Kordes is not permitted to possess a firearm due to a prior determination of mental incompetence – resulting from a 2017 indictment for Aggravated Vehicular Homicide.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters commented, “These monkeys are social animals. If they are going to be owned, the people who own them must take their responsibility to care for them seriously.

We are going to do everything in our power to protect Neo and keep him away from this abusive owner.

I am happy to report that Neo is now with responsible handlers who have been able to rehabilitate him to a great degree.”