On January 31, 2025, Hoover Police arrested 54-year-old Larry Scott Brown of Birmingham after he allegedly made a false robbery report in an attempt to divert officers’ attention and flee from a police investigation.
The incident occurred on January 16, 2025, when a Hoover Police officer was conducting surveillance on an unoccupied vehicle that was suspected of being involved in a retail theft. Around 8:16 p.m., Hoover 911 received a call reporting a robbery in progress at a nearby Walmart, claiming a man was pointing a gun at a woman.
Multiple officers responded to the call, including the officer who had been monitoring the suspicious vehicle. However, upon arrival, no evidence of a robbery was found at the Walmart. When the officer returned to continue the investigation, the suspicious vehicle had already left the area.
Upon further investigation, police discovered that the 911 caller was the owner of the suspicious vehicle and had not been at Walmart at the time of the reported robbery. It is believed that the false report was made to distract the officer, giving Brown the opportunity to leave the area without being stopped.
After presenting the case to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, a warrant was issued for Brown’s arrest on charges of false reporting to law enforcement, a Class C felony. His bond was set at $5,000.
Brown was arrested on January 31 and taken to the Shelby County Jail. This arrest is part of an ongoing effort to combat false reporting, a law inspired by the Carlee Russell hoax.
