Rape Suspect Jailed in Tuscaloosa After Standoff in Hoover Over Revoked Bond
A man accused of raping a juvenile in Tuscaloosa County in 2020 is back in jail after his bond was revoked, leading to a standoff at a Hoover hotel on Monday.
According to court documents, Thomas Ranburn Farris was first charged with first-degree rape in August 2022. Court documents alleged that the 45-year-old man sexually assaulted a child in a playhouse or shed in Tuscaloosa County in 2020, and DNA evidence ultimately linked Farris to the crime.
Farris was indicted by a grand jury in November of that year, but because of the large backlog of felony cases in Tuscaloosa County, he has still not gone to trial.
Documents show that earlier this month, prosecutors became aware that Farris had been hired as a security guard at a church in Birmingham, Alabama, and carries a firearm in that job.
Part of the conditions of Farris's bond in Tuscaloosa County is that he will not possess a firearm, and the DA's office reportedly provided Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet with photo evidence on January 13th that Farris was carrying a weapon at his new job.
Pruet ruled almost immediately to revoke the bond, and a warrant was issued for Farris' arrest, which led to his standoff with police on Monday night.
The Hoover Police Department said they were asked by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Apprehension Task Force to help capture Farris, who had been tracked to a hotel on Southpark Drive.
They said the federal agents were backed by local police from Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Pelham, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and moved in to arrest Farris.
Farris is now back in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
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