US Secret Service special agent Marquez Pinder, assigned to the Miami Field Office, is accused of involvement in potentially deadly violence against two pledges during a fraternity initiation process. The 29-year-old Pinder allegedly assumed the role of 'pledge dean' during four days of hazing sessions held between April 1-4.
According to court documents, Pinder and two other fraternity members hit the pledges with wooden paddles and beat them with a cane. A victim who reported blood in his urine after the first session had his complaint dismissed. Days later, he had to be intubated at the hospital due to risk of kidney failure-related death.
The other victim's hip tissue turned black and necrotic, requiring extensive skin graft surgery. Investigators found that fraternity members had messaged each other about using cleaning supplies to 'wipe away sweat and blood'.
Arrested by the Sweetwater Police Department, Pinder faces five felony charges including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, and hazing with a deadly weapon. The same charges apply to two other suspects, Jared James and Elijah Dyous.
A US Secret Service spokesperson said Pinder, who has worked at the agency since September 2023, has been placed on administrative leave and that the agency is fully cooperating with the investigation. Miami Field Office Special Agent in Charge Michael Townsend said, 'we take any criminal allegation involving our employees seriously.'
Kappa Alpha Psi's national president Jimmy McMikle stressed that the fraternity has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing. The Richmond-Perrine Alumni Chapter where the incident occurred has no official affiliation with the University of Miami, though one of the victims was reported to be a law student at the university.
