A Florida hazing case has pulled a U.S. Secret Service agent into a criminal investigation after authorities said three men allegedly beat University of Miami fraternity pledges in a violent initiation tied to the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. The Secret Service agent, Marquez Pinder, 29, was arrested along with Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29, in a case that has already left one victim with severe injuries and another hospitalized.
According to court records, the men face charges of hazing, attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said the alleged abuse stretched across four days and took place at several off-campus residences. Prosecutors said investigators found evidence of repeated beatings with canes and paddles. The office also said the punishments were allegedly triggered when the victims failed to answer questions about the fraternity correctly.
The arrest warrant paints a grim picture of the injuries. It says one victim, a law student, suffered kidney failure after the alleged assaults and had to undergo surgery. A second person was also taken to the hospital. The warrant further states that without emergency medical care, the first victim's injuries would have led to renal failure and death, and that he continues to experience extreme pain.
Officials said the two victims were reportedly trying to join the fraternity. The warrant identifies Pinder as the chapter's "dean of pledges," the member who oversees education for new recruits, on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus. That detail has sharpened the scrutiny around the case, because it places a federal law enforcement employee inside a hazing episode that prosecutors describe as prolonged and violent.
