June 6 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they arrested a man found to be keeping seven of 11 animals stolen from a college's teaching zoo in his apartment.

Santa Fe College Police said Sedrick Price, 20, was arrested Tuesday after investigators found three Florida box turtles, two red-foot tortoises, a skink and a squirrel monkey in his Gainesville apartment.


Six of the animals were stolen sometime between the evening of May 29 and the morning of May 30 from the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, police said. One of the box turtles, along with two gopher tortoises and two other box turtles, were taken a week earlier.

The other two box turtles and the gopher tortoises remain missing, investigators said.

"It was a great collaboration of effort from the community," SFPD Chief Ed Book said in a statement released by the school. "We are grateful for the many tips we received from the public, as well as the coordinated efforts of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and the college community that led to the rescue of these animals."

Teaching Zoo director Jonathan Miot said officials remain hopeful that the still-missing animals will be recovered safely.