Trio caught stealing lion’s head from Townsend

Two men and a woman were seen stealing, and were later caught with a brass lion’s head that had been attached to the front wall of Birmingham’s Townsend Hotel, ending the night with two of the three being charged with the theft.

A police report states that on Monday, May 13, a witness saw the three take the lion’s head off the front wall and head towards a car parked on Henrietta Street. Birmingham police said that officers saw the lion’s head sitting in the passenger seat of the car and stopped two men on Henrietta and Merrill after returning to the car.

According to the report, both men denied knowing the woman that was seen with them and said they didn't know how the lion ended up in the car, before eventually confessing and saying the woman was a business associate. They then claimed that the woman stole the head from the wall after they had dinner.

The owner of the car was charged with concealing stolen property, and the woman was charged with larceny.