SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Video from Southfield police shows an accused human trafficker repeatedly slamming his head into a glass wall and eventually collapsing.
Randolph Lewis, 33, of Texas, is accused of being part of a human trafficking operation that involves 10 victims, with some of them being as young as 17.
During a briefing on Thursday, July 24, 2025, Southfield police showed video of Lewis while he was in custody. Police Chief Elvin Barren said Lewis began smashing his head against the glass wall to try to delay his criminal case or blame police for the injuries.
Barren stopped the video midway through, but said Lewis eventually hit his head on the glass so many times that he began to bleed.
Lewis is currently hospitalized with the self-inflicted head injuries. You can see the full video at the top of this page. The entire press conference is right here:
Victim calls police about smashed windshield
Officers responded to the Quality Inn hotel at 26111 Telegraph at about 3 a.m. on July 21 after receiving a report about a domestic disturbance that involved a car being damaged.
When they arrived, they talked to a 21-year-old woman from Louisiana who said that a man, identified as Randolph Demarcus Lewis, 33, of Arlington, Texas, had smashed her windshield.
The victim said that Lewis broke her windshield because she didn’t get him the food he asked for, and that he said he wasn’t going to repair the damage, so she wanted to press charges. She also told officers that she had planned to drive home to Louisiana that evening.
Previous Coverage: Smashed windshield leads to rescue of human trafficking victim in Southfield hotel
Suspect rented 3 rooms at Quality Inn
While interviewing the victim, police learned that Lewis had been renting three rooms at the Quality hotel, which prompted suspicions of human trafficking.
After that, officers asked about her relationship to Lewis, and the victim appeared to be frightened and caught off guard by that question, according to Barren.
Initially, the victim denied being trafficked, but later told officers that Lewis brought her to Michigan from Louisiana.
She also told officers that she had no idea that she was in the state of Michigan.
Victim reveals she was trafficked in multiple states for about 1 year
The victim revealed that she had been trafficked by Lewis for about a year after she met him in Louisiana.
They would travel between Louisiana and Dallas twice per month.
Before arriving in Southfield, the victim said they spent three days in St. Louis and then three days in Chicago.
The victim told officers that they left Louisiana after another woman who was being trafficked by Lewis had called the police. A local police department in Louisiana is also authorizing charges against Lewis.
During the interview, the victim found at the Southfield hotel told authorities that Lewis had assaulted her multiple times and forced her to have unconsensual sex with him in the other states they had been in, and she would often try to fight him off to prevent the assaults.
Authorities find evidence of human trafficking in hotel rooms
While at the Southfield hotel, the victim had seen multiple clients. Her services were advertised online on sex websites, and Lewis would take all of her earnings.
When detectives conducted a search warrant on the three hotel rooms, they found items consistent with human trafficking, including sex toys, lubricants and condoms. The chief said no evidence of narcotics was found in the rooms, but they are still investigating the case.
Authorities also seized laptops and cellphones to examine.
Charges and bond
Lewis was arrested and charged with running a human trafficking enterprise resulting in injury, prostitution- accepting earnings, using computers to commit a crime, and two counts of criminal sexual conduct- assault with intent to commit sexual penetration.
“She’s given food and shelter, and that’s about it. These victims are in a place where they don’t know where they are, they don’t have a home, they have nothing in their lives to give them support, and their basic needs except this trafficker,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald told Local 4 on Wednesday.
He was issued a $300,000 cash bond and was ordered to wear a GPS tether if released.
Lewis is expected to appear in court again on Aug. 4.
“We are continuing to send a message to these human traffickers that if you decide to come into Southfield, there’s a high probability we’re going to discover your activity and take these types of actions,” said Barren. “That’s why he panicked on the video because he understands the seriousness of this offense, and then wants to injure himself to delay or keep himself in a hospital room and not go to prison. And then ultimately, like I said, I guarantee you had I not shown this video, he would say that the Southfield Police Department injured him. So, again, I did him a favor.”
Other victims
During the investigation, the victim told police another victim was involved, but she was allegedly uncooperative with their investigation.
Authorities also learned that there are eight other women involved in this human trafficking operation with Lewis, and that he has affiliates in other states who help him set up dates.
Barren said the investigation is ongoing and that they will continue to monitor these websites.
He also encouraged the community to be aware of human trafficking signs and listen to loved ones who may be victims.
“It is right by your house. It is right in our communities, and we have to protect these victims,” said McDonald. “We are also prosecuting the people who use these services and are paying the trafficker to have sexual encounters with these victims, because that is also a crime.”
If you suspect that any child or adult is a victim, or is at risk of becoming a victim, call 855-444-3911. If the individual is in imminent danger, immediately call 911. Click here to learn more about human trafficking from the State of Michigan.