SC man accused of sexual assaults dies in detention center, 2nd jail death in 2 months

A 29-year-old man who was arrested in a string of sexual assaults in Northeast Columbia died Friday in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office responded at about 3:30 p.m. Friday without identifying the person who died.

Then, in a statement released by Richland County expressing condolences, the man was identified as Antonius Donshe Randolph, who was arrested Jan. 21 on two counts of kidnapping, first-degree assault and battery, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, court records show.

Neither the sheriff nor the coroner revealed the circumstances or cause of Randolph’s death.

In a news conference last Monday, Sheriff Leon Lott described Randolph as a “monster,” who officials believe sexually assaulted and robbed at least five women over the past year. Lott said apps were used to lure victims.

“The investigation began after the RCSD received an anonymous call about an attempted robbery at a home in Northeast Columbia in November 2021,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

A year later, a woman reported she was held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted at a home in Northeast Columbia after meeting someone on an app. Similar assaults occurred in December 2022 and January 2023 and another attempt in January.

“We’ve taken a monster off of our streets. My prayer is that he is not going to see daylight again, and I don’t think he will,” Lott said during the press conference Monday.

Randolph’s death is the second at the detention center in less than two months and the third in a year. James W. Mitchell, 38, of Columbia was found dead in December.

Last February, Lason Butler died of dehydration while in solitary confinement at the jail. Butler was in the midst of a mental health crisis when he was arrested and died after being left unattended for days in the cell. He was found covered in rat bites in a feces-covered cell, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

Richland County denies the allegations. The Richland County Coroner’s Office ruled Butler’s death was a homicide.

This story was originally published January 28, 2023 at 9:34 AM.