Texas man arrested, charged in human trafficking case in Metro Detroit
Southfield police say they've busted another instance of human trafficking, the latest in several they've uncovered during the past year.
Police say a 33-year-old Texas man is in custody and is facing several charges.
Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren says this is their fourth significant human trafficking arrest in the past three months that was based out of a hotel. They caught 33-year-old Randolph Lewis after one of his victims called police when Lewis smashed her car's windshield.
Barren says Lewis made stops in Dallas, St. Louis, and Chicago before finally being caught in Southfield.
"We were called initially to the hotel due to a malicious destruction of property. Due to our officer's awareness, it evolved into a human trafficking case," he said.
Police say a 21-year-old victim told officers that Lewis rented out three hotel rooms at the Quality Inn on Telegraph Road. After searching the rooms, police say they found more signs, including sex toys, lubricant and condoms.
"Southfield officers determined this was suspicious for Lewis to have access to three hotel rooms," Barren said. "The victim had been staying at the Quality Inn for 3-4 days and had been seeing multiple clients over that span of time."
Police eventually arrested Lewis at the hotel roughly 12 hours after they began investigating the smashed window. In addition to a human trafficking charge, Lewis is also charged with prostitution, using a computer to commit a crime, and two counts of sexual assault.
"If you look at Oakland County as a whole, even going into Wayne County, there's a lot of hotels. Southeast Michigan is very different. Generally, they like to stay in the vicinity of a big city," Barren said.
Lewis is receiving treatment at the hospital for a head injury that police claim he did to himself while in a holding cell. He's being held on a $300,000 cash bond, and his next court date is Aug. 4.
