A federal law enforcement officer is at the center of a violent hazing case that prosecutors say left two fraternity pledges hospitalized. Miami US Secret Service agent Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, was arrested Sunday on multiple felonies, including attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon and hazing causing serious bodily injury, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said. Two other men, 26-year-old Jared Lamar James and 29-year-old Elijah Delano Dyous, were also arrested. A source told the Miami Herald the case involves Kappa Alpha Psi, a historically Black fraternity.
Investigators allege the pledges endured days of "prolonged and repeated beatings with canes and paddles" at two Miami-Dade locations between April 1 and 4 after failing to answer fraternity questions correctly. One pledge bled through his underwear and pants, according to a warrant reviewed by the New York Times. A University of Miami law student later showed up at a hospital with severe kidney damage; doctors reportedly said he would've died without emergency care. The other victim was treated for similar injuries and had to be intubated, authorities say.
State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle called the case a "clear-cut" example of hazing's danger, adding, "In Florida, hazing is abuse, and it is a crime." The Secret Service has not commented; Pinder has now been on leave from the agency for about a month, his lawyer tells the Times, describing the charges as "grossly overcharged." The outlet describes the case as "another embarrassing episode" for the Secret Service, whose members have recently been accused of masturbating in a hotel hallway and sending sexually explicit material to a child.
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