DOC inmate, Solomon Hall, convicted of the 2004 murder of Michael Randolph, Jr., of Chiefland; Hall to serve additional 15 years

Anyone with information as to the location of Randolph's remains is asked to contact the LCSO.

Levy County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), Bronson, Florida

Michael Randolph, Jr., who was known to area law enforcement personnel due to having been arrested numerous times on drug related charges, went missing from the Chiefland, Florida area sometime during 2004.

For years, rumors circulated that Randolph had been murdered within the illegal drug community. Most of the rumors pinned Solomon “John” Hall as having murdered Michael Randolph, Jr., although there was no proof that Randolph had been murdered, and no missing person report had ever been filed on him.

Many years passed, then in July 2017, Levy County Sheriff's Office detectives working an unrelated drug case stumbled onto evidence that gave some validity to the rumors that Michael Randolph, Jr. had been murdered. As a result of this unspecified evidence, a full scale investigation was launched that zeroed in on the date he disappeared.

Randolph, who had no formal full time job and relied on State of Florida disability checks to support himself, had stopped collecting his disability payments in May of 2004. No activity after that time was documented on his bank account, and no person interviewed by detectives could recall having seen Randolph in many years. Most people interviewed by detectives believed that Randolph had moved out of the area.

Detectives also gleaned information that Hall was responsible for Randolph's death and also that he was responsible for disposing of Randolph's remains. Detectives with the Levy County Sheriff's Office coordinated efforts with agents with Florida's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to aid them in the cold case murder investigation. Acting on tips they'd received, detectives secured search warrants to dig in various locations, south of Chiefland, looking for Randolph's remains, but these efforts were fruitless.

In December of 2019, sufficient evidence had been collected during the investigation to seek an indictment by a grand jury against Solomon Hall for the murder of Michael Randolph, Jr. After the case was presented to the grand jury, it returned a true bill (a formal statement that indicates there is enough evidence to charge the suspect with a crime, which leads to an indictment - a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime).

Solomon Hall, who was already serving a sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) for unrelated drug convictions, was arrested for the murder of Mr. Randolph.

In May of 2025, the case was resolved in the 8th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Hall accepted a plea offer to serve an additional 15 years in the Department of Corrections for the murder of Randolph, officially making him a convicted murderer.

As of now, Hall has never disclosed the location of Randolph's remains. This part of the case remains open, as Michael Randolph's family wants to provide him with a proper burial. Anyone with information as to the location of Randolph's remains is asked to contact Detective Joe Barrera at (352) 486-5111.