Tuscaloosa Private Investigator Charged With Felony Electronic Stalking

Editor's Note: This story has been updated from its original publication to include a comment from Michael Hearing's defense attorney.

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa private investigator has been charged with felony electronic stalking after a woman reported she discovered a tracking device on her vehicle.

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The Tuscaloosa Police Department confirmed to Patch that TPD received the initial report on June 14 from the woman after the device was found. TPD's Criminal Investigations Division later determined the tracker was registered to Michael Eugene Hearing, 58.

TPD officers then obtained a warrant to charge Hearing with first-degree electronic stalking — a Class C felony — and served the warrant on Wednesday.

Hearing was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail after the warrant was served and released after his bond was set at $30,000.

Court documents were not readily available when he was charged and it's unclear at this time what Hearing's connection to the woman is. It's also unclear if the device was placed on the vehicle in Hearing's professional capacity as a private investigator.

Tuscaloosa defense attorney Stuart Albea has been hired to represent Hearing.

“Mr. Hearing has dedicated much of his career to serving this community, and he firmly denies these allegations and looks forward to clearing his name in court,” Albea told Patch.

Records obtained by Patch show that Hearing is a former Tuscaloosa Police officer who worked for the department from 1993 until 1997, before resigning to work for the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office and then transitioning to his work as a private investigator.

According to records obtained from the State of Alabama Private Investigation Board, Hearing's license is still active and was renewed on June 18 — four days after the report was received by TPD that led to his arrest. His license is set to expire in March 2027.

The stalking charge is just the latest legal issue for the private investigator, who was indicted for rape, sodomy and incest in 2023 for alleged crimes that occurred in Hale County roughly two decades prior.

Patch previously reported that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Hearing was arrested after being indicted that April by a Hale County grand jury on one count of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree sodomy, and one count of incest.

Hearing was eventually released from the Hale County Jail after his bond was set at $100,000 and he went on to enter a plea for second-degree assault.

Fourth Circuit Court Judge Donald McMillan sentenced Hearing to three years of unsupervised probation for the assault conviction.

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