Federal Agent Arrested for Felony Hazing Charges After Fraternity Ritual Leaves Two With Life-Threatening Injuries

Marquez Pinder, a 29-year-old special agent employed by the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Field Office since September 2023, has been arrested and faces five felony counts stemming from his alleged role in fraternity hazing rituals. The charges include two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon, and one count of hazing with a deadly weapon. Pinder has been ordered to house arrest with electronic GPS monitoring.

During his position as “dean of pledges” for the Miami chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Pinder allegedly participated in four lengthy hazing sessions conducted April 1-4 at two Miami-Dade County residences. The two prospective members were subjected to paddling and cane strikes while held in stress positions—described as half-squats with one arm extended forward—and quizzed on fraternity knowledge. When answers proved incorrect, the victims were struck repeatedly on their buttocks.

One victim required emergency hospitalization and intensive care after urinating blood during the initial session, an injury the fraternity initially dismissed. Medical personnel intubated him to prevent organ failure and death, according to law enforcement documents. The second victim sustained such severe tissue damage to his buttocks that surgeons removed substantial portions of skin and soft tissue, requiring extensive grafting.

Law enforcement investigators discovered fraternity members had exchanged messages discussing cleaning supplies needed to “mop up sweat and blood.” Co-defendants Jared James and Elijah Dyous face identical charges. The national Kappa Alpha Psi organization, founded in 1911, maintains a zero-tolerance hazing policy, according to national president Jimmy McMikle.