‘Abused trust’: Ex-Chester sheriff Alex Underwood, 2 deputies will be sentenced this week
For almost 30 years, people in rural Chester County in South Carolina knew Alex Underwood, the cop and then sheriff, as “Big A.”
Six-foot-3 inches tall, 230-plus pounds, Underwood was larger than life.
He stared down gangs and arrested gang members who took part in the 2014 killing of a Chester City Councilman.
He was shot while serving as a member of a law enforcement unit that hunted down violent criminals.
He was the first African-American in Chester County’s history to be elected sheriff.
He did not ride in Chester County parades. He walked and shook hands and hugged supporters.
He argued publicly with political opponents to get better pay and bulletproof vests for deputies.
On Friday, a year after a federal jury convicted him, Underwood will be sentenced to prison.
Underwood was convicted in April 2021 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and federal program theft, unlawful arrest of a Chester County man in 2018, and wire fraud, records show.
U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs is expected to sentence Underwood. Federal sentencing guidelines show Underwood faces 46-57 months in prison.
Underwood, former chief deputy Robert Sprouse, and former Lt. Johnny Neal, were all convicted at the same trial in April 2021. Sentencing for all three is Friday in federal court.
Federal prosecutors want Underwood’s sentence set at the “high end” under the law’s guidelines. The sentencing guidelines are not rules, federal law shows. Childs can follow the guidelines -- or give less or more prison time.
What the sentencing memorandum says
Underwood violated the trust of the public that elected him first in 2012 and again in 2016, prosecutors said in court testimony and documents.
Underwood used deputies to build his party barn at his home, stole money from deputies from a DUI task force, then violated the civil rights of a citizen and threw the man in jail before trying to cover up the crime, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday in federal court.
“To account for Underwood’s leadership role and the central role he played in the criminal activity, the United States recommends this Court sentence Underwood to a term of imprisonment at the high-end of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range of 46 to 57 months followed by a term of supervised release,” prosecutors said Tuesday in court filings.
Underwood was a bully and thief who stole DUI task force money from the public and his own deputies, prosecutors say.
“Rather than faithfully execute the duties of his office, Underwood repeatedly misused his position for his own benefit and to serve his own interests, acting as if the rules did not apply to him,” federal prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Underwood, known so widely as “Big A” that he is called “Big A” in court documents, must get prison to show the public that police cannot be criminals, prosecutors said in court filings.
“A meaningful term of incarceration is required to promote respect for our anti-corruption laws and restore faith in our nation’s law enforcement institutions,” prosecutors said in filings. “The need for general deterrence is particularly important in cases such as this one, which erode public confidence in our institutions.”
In the past dozen years, 12 sheriffs in South Carolina have been charged or convicted of crimes in federal and state courts, records show. All 46 counties in South Carolina have an elected sheriff who is the top law enforcement officer in each county.
Chester County, located between Columbia and Rock Hill, is a mainly rural county of around 32,000 people.
Victim wants jail for Underwood
Kevin Simpson, the man who was unlawfully arrested in 2018, wrote a letter to the judge asking that Underwood and his co-conspirators go to jail. Simpson was arrested after he posted a video on Facebook Live in 2018 of police activity near his home. The jury convicted Underwood, Neal and Sprouse in connection with the handling of the incident, which included untrue reports, testimony and court documents show.
Simpson spent days in jail before charges were dropped by South Carolina prosecutors.
Simpson said as a Black man, the effects of the false arrest by Underwood and Neal, who also are both African-American, has made the actions even harder to accept.
Childs also is Afican-American.
“What makes things worse is Mr. Underwood and Mr. Neal are both African-American men like me,” Simpson wrote to Childs in a public court record. “They should know how African-Americans feel in general about the police. The fact that two African-American police officers did this to me really destroyed any confidence I might have about police in general and specifically about African-American officers...I should feel safe when I see a police officer, especially an African-American one. Now I get tense and anxious even at the sight of police.”
Attorney says Underwood has suffered due to conviction
Underwood, 56, has lost his law enforcement certification, according to his lead lawyer, Stanley Myers.
Underwood now works as a manager at a farm and no longer has the reputation as a law enforcer as he had for more than 30 years as a deputy, State Law Enforcement Division agent, and U.S. Marshal fugitive team leader who caught felons fleeing justice, Myers said in court records filed Tuesday.
A long prison sentence won’t make the community any safer, Myers said in the court filing.
“The destruction of Mr. Underwood’s career, along with his reputation in the public and employability, significantly satisfy the need for just punishment and deterrence,” Myers said in the filing.
Leniency sought for deputies
Federal prosecutors wrote in filings Tuesday that Sprouse and Neal, should get prison terms in the range of the guidelines.
Neal, 41, faces 46-57 months in prison. He was convicted of falsification of records, federal program theft, unlawful arrest, federal program theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.
His lawyer, Andrew Johnston, wrote that Neal also has suffered loss of employment and reputation and deserves a lesser sentence. Neal was an employee of Underwood who was doing his job, Johnston wrote.
Neal is an “otherwise law-abiding citizen who just did dumb things,” Johnston said in a court filing.
Sprouse, 46, faces a range of 30-37 months after he was convicted of conspiracy to falsify records and commit federal program theft, falsification of records, false statements, and federal program theft, records state.
Sprouse’s lawyer, also filed a motion Monday asking for leniency based on Sprouse’s decades of public service in Chester.
Sprouse “must live with this stigma for the rest of his life’ his lawyer said in court filings. “Defendant’s reputation is forever tarnished within his community.”
What will happen at Friday’s hearing?
Court records show Sprouse is set to be sentenced at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the federal courthouse in Columbia. Neal is next at 1:15 p.m., court records say, then Underwood at 2 p.m.
The sentencing is open to the public. However, federal courts do not allow video or pictures in courtrooms or in the courthouse.
All three defendants are expected to have supporters in court.
All three have been free on bail since they were indicted on May 7, 2019. They remained free on the same bail after they were convicted in April 2021 of lying to the FBI, making up fake reports to cover up the false arrest, and stealing more than $20,000 each, court documents filed by federal prosecutors state.
