St. James Davis chimpanzee attack

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver St. James Davis and his wife, LaDonna, had a pet chimpanzee named Moe, whom they treated as if he were a child.

On March 3, 2005, while at the sanctuary on one of their frequent visits with Moe, St. James and LaDonna were attacked by two young male chimpanzees named Buddy and Ollie after they had escaped their enclosures.

In the ensuing attack, LaDonna lost her thumb, and St. James was brutally mauled, resulting in permanent disfigurement and missing extremities.

[4][7] In 2002, they filed a civil rights lawsuit against West Covina; the city ultimately agreed to pay them US$100,000 plus US$225,000 for a home purchase in nearby Baldwin Park, California, where they could live with Moe.

[4] Two female chimpanzees named Susie and Bones also escaped from their cages during the attack; they were not involved in the assault on St. James and LaDonna and were recaptured five hours later.

[7] The sanctuary owner's son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, retrieved a .45 caliber revolver and shot Buddy in the head.

[2] In 2006, the year following the attack, St. James and LaDonna placed a sign in their front yard that read "Free Moe".

They also went to Superior Court in Pomona, California, to get the city of West Covina to honor their 2002 settlement which required it to purchase a home for them in Baldwin Park so that they could reunite with Moe.

St. James and LaDonna hired a helicopter to do flyovers in an attempt to flush him out of hiding, and authorities searched the San Bernardino National Forest,[6] but he has never been found.

The alleged perpetrator, Min Maw, coerced the aging LaDonna to sign over a living will to himself that included the Davis's properties and control of active bank accounts.

[17] By the time authorities stepped in, the house had been taken over by members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club who had forced Maw out and were neglecting LaDonna's care.

After the motorcycle gang were evicted, a legal battle began with Maw, which was eventually settled so as to preserve what little remained of LaDonna's stolen assets, rather than risk a lengthy and expensive court case.