A U.S. Secret Service agent and two other South Florida men have been charged in connection with an alleged fraternity hazing ritual that left a University of Miami law student critically injured and another participant requiring skin grafts, authorities said.
Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, a special agent assigned to the Secret Service’s Miami Field Office, was arrested and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case. The agency said Pinder is fully cooperating with investigators.
According to arrest warrants, Pinder, Jared Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29, are accused of participating in a series of hazing events that took place between April 1 and April 4 at an apartment in Sweetwater and later at a home in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
Prosecutors allege the two victims were repeatedly beaten with canes and paddles after failing to correctly answer questions about the fraternity during the initiation process.
One victim, identified as a University of Miami School of Law student, suffered life-threatening injuries and was intubated and placed in critical care “to prevent further physical deterioration and death,” court records state. A second victim sustained severe injuries requiring skin grafts to repair damaged tissue.
“The investigation revealed evidence of prolonged and repeated beatings with canes and paddles,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Pinder, James and Dyous each face charges of attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and hazing. Pinder was released after posting a $75,000 bond following his initial court appearance.
The University of Miami said neither Pinder nor the other suspects are affiliated with the university or its undergraduate chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
“The agent, Marquez Christopher Pinder, is in no way affiliated with the University of Miami or the University’s undergraduate chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi,” the university said in a statement. University officials also said the school’s Iota Chi chapter and its student leadership were not connected to the alleged incident.
According to The Miami Hurricane, the alleged hazing involved members of the Richmond-Perrine (Fla.) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi.
In a statement, Kappa Alpha Psi International President Jimmy McMikle said the organization does not condone hazing and emphasized that the three defendants “do not have an official affiliation with any chapter nor any official role with the organization.”
“Kappa Alpha Psi is a non-hazing fraternity,” McMikle said. “We neither condone nor tolerate acts of hazing behavior within our organization or from our membership.”
The fraternity said it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
The case has renewed scrutiny of hazing within Greek-letter organizations despite Florida’s strict anti-hazing laws. In 2025, Miami University in Ohio suspended its Kappa Alpha Psi chapter through 2040 following findings of physical abuse during pledging. In 2007, two members of Florida A&M University’s chapter were sentenced to prison after a pledge suffered a ruptured eardrum during a hazing ritual.
Former Florida Sen. Dwight Bullard, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, told the Miami Herald the allegations were deeply troubling.
“It could bring a bad reputation to the organization itself, but it actually has potential long-term costs,” Bullard said. “Not only is your reputation ruined, but there are real costs involved, meaning people may file lawsuits. There could be legal ramifications.”
The investigation remains ongoing.