‘Maintains innocence’: Indicted Chester sheriff, deputies, plead not guilty in court
Suspended Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood and two of his former top deputies again pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday after new charges were brought against them.
Underwood, former chief deputy Robert Sprouse, and former Lt. Johnny Neal were indicted in November on charges of conspiracy to use their positions in South Carolina law enforcement to intimidate others, according to federal prosecutors. Underwood and Sprouse also are accused by federal prosecutors of using sheriff’s office money for travel for themselves and family members, and directing security detail payments for off-duty deputies to avoid paying employment taxes.
The new charges follow earlier indictments in May.
All three appeared Tuesday in federal court in Columbia. The new charges were formally announced in a hearing before federal Judge Shiva Hodges. The three pleaded not guilty to all charges and remain free on bond.
Hodges said to all three as they left court, “Y’all stay out of trouble.”
None of the three defendants spoke in court except to confirm they were aware of the new charges.
Underwood, called “Big A” in the indictments, also was charged with using on-duty deputies to perform labor at his home and property.
Stanley Myers, Underwood’s lawyer, said after court that Underwood “maintains his innocence” and wants a trial.
“My client wants his day in court,” Myers said. “My client is encouraged by the evidence that we have seen...A lot of this is about context. Hopefully a trial will bring all of these contextual issues together. He still looks forward to his day in court.”
Myers said Underwood denies the new charges brought by prosecutors about misuse of money for travel, using deputies for labor, and payment of deputies for off-duty security jobs.
Myers said deputies are allowed to work security jobs for extra money.
“The additional charges are that he encouraged several of his deputies to come to his barn to help build it, and he denies that,” Myers said.
Myers also said the travel money issue involved official business trips Underwood took with his wife.
“When asked about it, he repaid whatever he felt he needed to,” Myers said. “And that’s what he’s done all along.”
Neal and Sprouse also have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Their lawyers declined to speak about the new charges after court Tuesday.
Alyssa Richardson, the lead South Carolina federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the case against Underwood and the deputies, declined to discuss the case after court.
The Herald was the first to report the new indictments in November.
The November charges came after all three were indicted in May. The FBI claimed the men lied to federal agents investigating a claim of false arrest. The May indictments came a week after the FBI raided the sheriff’s office and seized cellphones and other records.
Prosecutors say Underwood and the two others falsified police reports and falsely arrested two people after a Chester County man videotaped a traffic incident in November 2018.
Federal prosecutors say the three deputies violated the civil rights of Kevin Simpson and Simpson’s mother, Ernestine, during the 2018 video incident. Underwood and the deputies made up phony police reports to justify the seizure of the video and the phone the video was taken on, federal prosecutors say.
Those charges from May 7 against all three men remain pending, according to the indictments.
Kevin Simpson and his mother were arrested by Underwood’s deputies. The charges were dismissed by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office two days after Underwood was indicted in May.
Simpson and his mother have filed a false arrest civil lawsuit against the sheriff’s office.
No trial date has been set in the case against Underwood and the two former deputies.
Former State Law Enforcement Division agent Max Dorsey was appointed by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster on May 7 as interim sheriff.
Check back for updates.
