Five charged in connection with the killing of Alvin S. Glenn inmate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Five men have been charged in connection with the killing of an Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center inmate, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The information raises new questions about the security at the jail.

Sheriff Leon Lott said James Oxendine Jr., Jayun Harrison, Erick Stewart, Daylan Isreal, and Devin Rowe have each been charged with murder and conspiracy for the killing of 29-year-old Antonius Randolph.

Oxendine Jr. and Harrison were already being held in jail for murder charges according to deputies.

On Jan. 27, around 3:00 p.m. deputies were notified of a dead inmate, later identified as Antonius Randolph. He was found inside a cell at Alvin S. Glenn. Deputies stated they arrived at the cell to find Randolph with blood around his body.

An investigation was then launched and detectives discovered many of the cell doors don’t lock, allowing inmates to come and go from their cells.

Deputies determined around 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 26, the five inmates entered Randolph’s cell, put a cloth over the door, and beat him. It wasn’t until approximately 2:15 p.m. on the 27th that Randolph’s body was found by jail staff.

The department-provided timeline appears to conflict with what a jail staffer reportedly told a responding RCSD deputy.

The RCSD incident report reads that a jail staffer told a deputy that around 1:30 p.m.,  Randolph had “refused” to go to bond court on Jan. 27th.

Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said Randolph died the morning of Jan. 27th.

She said earlier detection by jail staff would not have made a difference.

Lott declined to provide a motive for the killing, but said it was pre-meditated.

“They killed him, they tortured him and they killed him, and they’re going to be held accountable for that,” he said.

Lott did not criticize the county or jail administration, but did raise findings about the jail’s security shortcomings.

“The cells, the rooms that are supposed to be locked that don’t have locks on them. Where they just have access to get out and do whatever they want to do, which is commit a murder,” he said.

Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown and other members of his administration were in attendance at Lott’s news conference.

The county later released a statement which clashes with RCSD’s assessment of non-locking doors, laying blame instead on the detainees. It read in part:

During the press conference, it was communicated that cell doors were unlocked or left open; however, this is not a practice of the detention center. As identified by the Sheriff, certain detainees continue their alleged criminal activities, such as the making of homemade contraband and compromising security locks while in custody. As we’ve continually stated, County Administration is taking the necessary steps to improve the facility and reduce detainees’ ability to commit these types of crimes.

Investigators also executed a search warrant at the jail, finding nine cell phones, and 17 homemade knives or “shanks.” Detectives also found 58 contraband items including needles, pills, and other drugs.

The incident remains under investigation, and deputies believe additional charges are expected.

Randolph was originally arrested in connection with a series of sexual assaults and burglaries in Northeast Columbia.

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