Court proceedings involving former local attorney Randy Hames concluded prior to jury charges Thursday, Feb. 1.

Hames was originally arrested in 2018 after several female tenants living at Hames Marina and RV Park alleged he asked them to exchange sex for rent. Misdemeanor charges of stalking and solicitation of prostitution were later upgraded to multiple felony counts of human trafficking, sexual extortion, soliciting prostitution and stalking.

In November 2023, Hames signed a plea agreement admitting guilt to misdemeanor harassment charges while all felony and sexual charges were dismissed. As part of his agreement, Hames agreed to surrender his license to practice law.

In July 2018, The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Hames accusing him of violating the U.S. Fair Housing Act by subjecting female tenants to “egregious sexual harassment.”

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleges that since at least 2011, Hames sexually harassed numerous women who lived in the defendants’ residential property. The suit alleges that Hames’s conduct included demanding or pressuring female tenants to engage in sexual acts with him in exchange for rent or to prevent eviction; evicting female tenants when they refused his advances; making female tenants feel unsafe by stalking them and entering their residences without permission; and making unwelcome sexual comments and advances.

“The alleged behavior of Randy Hames is abhorrent and repulsive. We will not let women, or any person, in our district be threatened, harassed, or retaliated against by landlords,” said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town for the Northern District of Alabama in 2018. “The Fair Housing Act is an extraordinary tool that allows the Department of Justice to protect all tenants from egregious misconduct, like sexual harassment, and we will continue to strongly enforce all violations of it.”

Hearings in the case began Monday, Jan. 29, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Closing statements were given Wednesday with jury deliberations set for Thursday, Feb. 1. However, the trial adjourned before deliberations began.

According to the court minute entry for Thursday; “Counsel advised court that case has settled prior to jury being charged.”

The District Court’s Clerk office was unable to provide any further details on the agreement and said those would need to be provided from either party’s council.

Messages left with both Hames and plaintiff’s representation Friday, Feb. 2 were unsuccessful as of presstime.