A U.S. Secret Service agent is one of three men in Miami facing felony charges tied to an alleged fraternity hazing ritual that ended with two people suffering serious injuries.
Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, is a Secret Service agent in the Miami field office. He is described in an arrest warrant as the "dean of pledges" for the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity's chapter in Miami.
Pinder, Jared Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29, were charged with hazing with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, and attempted manslaughter last week following a police investigation into “alleged hazing incidents involving prolonged and repeated beatings with canes and paddles,” according to the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office.
The victims' injuries were so severe that they may have been fatal if not treated, according to police records. One of the victims required skin grafts to his buttocks and also sustained kidney damage during the ritual. Another had to have a tube placed into his windpipe to help him breathe.
Pinder has been placed on administrative leave and is reportedly cooperating with investigators, according to WFLA. He has worked as a Secret Service agent since 2023, according to agency spokesperson Matt Fagiana.
“Any misconduct will be addressed swiftly and appropriately upon completion of the investigative and judicial process,” Secret Service Special Agent Michael Townsend, who leads the agency's Miami field office, said in a statement.
Pinder posted a $75,000 bond Monday and was released from jail. His next court date is scheduled for September 24.
“In Florida, hazing is abuse and it is a crime,” Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade County's state attorney, said in a statement Sunday. “Its victims too often lie in their graves and in hospital beds.”
According to the arrest warrant, one of the victims told police that he and another man were beaten on their buttocks by Pinder and the other defendants over four nights during a ritual that occurred in April at an off-campus apartment. The paddling was done in response to the victims failing to provide the correct answers to questions they were asked about the fraternity and its history, according to investigators.
Neither of the victims was named in the report.
The beatings reportedly stopped on the fourth night when one of the men began bleeding through his pants, the warrant says. Fraternity leaders reportedly ordered both of the victims to strip down and throw their clothes in garbage bags before they left the apartment for the night.
The Independent has requested comment from Kappa Alpha Psi.
One of the victims told police he suffered vomiting, fevers, and intense pain before he was admitted to a hospital. He required skin grafts on his buttocks, and had he not received treatment, “his injuries would have resulted in renal failure leading to death," police said.
The second victim required intubation during his hospital stay to "prevent further physical deterioration and death,” the warrant said.
In 2005, Florida lawmakers passed legislation making hazing a felony that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence if it results in injury or death.
