Ex-Chester SC sheriff Alex Underwood should get years in prison, feds say
Federal prosecutors want the former sheriff of Chester County in South Carolina to serve five to six years in prison after he was convicted of corruption charges in 2021, court documents show.
Alex “Big A” Underwood should serve 57-71 months in prison, according to documents submitted Friday by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Schuman and William Miller. The two prosecutors convicted Underwood and former top deputies Robert Sprouse and Johnny Neal in a two-week trial in Columbia last April. A jury found Underwood, 57, guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and federal program theft, unlawful arrest, and wire fraud, records show.
Underwood was suspended from office in 2019 after he was indicted by federal prosecutors. Underwood ran for re-election in 2020 while under indictment but was defeated by Max Dorsey, who was appointed sheriff in 2019 after Underwood was removed.
The prosecutors’ sentence recommendation is not the final word. The final sentencing will be done by a federal judge later this year.
The sentence should be handed down because Underwood attempted to conceal evidence and falsified an incident report among other crimes, Schuman and Miller said in the court filing.
Two top deputies also convicted
Prosecutors stated Neal should be sentenced to 46-57 months in prison, and Sprouse should get 30-37 months, records show.
In the same 2021 trial, Neal, 41, a former lieutenant, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsification of records, federal program theft, unlawful arrest, falsification of records, federal program theft, and wire fraud, according to prosecutors.
Sprouse, 46, the former chief deputy, was found guilty by the same jury of conspiracy to falsify records and commit federal program theft, falsification of records, false statement, and federal program theft, records state.
The prosecutors said at trial that the three conspired to use their positions to enrich themselves, cover up their misconduct, and obstruct investigations. Crucial to the case was the use of federal DUI money and deputies labor at Underwood’s barn.
Prosecutors say the loss to the public was $15,000-$40,000.
The three also were convicted in a case linked to the way a suspect was treated at a 2019 incident in rural Chester County where they lied about a man’s arrest and tried to cover it up, prosecutors said during the trial.
Defendants’ lawyers to argue against prison
All three men denied the allegations after they were indicted and denied the allegations during the 2021 trial.
In a hearing scheduled for Monday in federal court in Columbia, lawyers for Underwood, Neal and Sprouse are expected to argue against prison sentences, court records show.
In objections to a federal sentencing guideline report published as court records Friday, lawyers for the three men say prosecutors over-estimated the loss of money on the guilty verdicts, among other disputes the defendants have with the potential sentences.
The hearing Monday in U.S. District Court is in front of Federal Judge Michelle Childs. She was the judge in the April 2021 trial.
In December, Childs denied requests from all three men to overturn the jury convictions.
When will sentencing be?
It remains unclear when sentencing will take place after Monday’s court hearing. In court documents, Childs stated Monday’s hearing will not include sentencing. Monday’s hearing is solely for arguments by lawyers and prosecutors about potential sentences.
All three defendants remain free on personal recognizance bonds.
Since 2010, 13 sheriffs in South Carolina’s 46 counties have been convicted of crimes in state and federal courts.
