Secret Service agent accused in Miami-Dade frat hazing bonds out of jail

A Miami U.S. Secret Service agent was placed on house arrest Monday after he was charged in connection with alleged fraternity hazing that left a University of Miami student with severe kidney injuries.

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Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, was in court one day after his arrest on a slew of felony charges, including attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or causing great bodily harm, and hazing with a deadly weapon.

Also handcuffed were two other men involved with Kappa Alpha Psi who, authorities say, helped carry out the vicious beatings: Jared Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29.

Pinder’s arrest warrant states that two victims were questioned during different events about the historically Black fraternity’s history and struck with a paddle or a cane if they got the answers wrong.

One of the victims told investigators Pinder and James subjected them to hazing, according to the warrant. Both said they ended up in the hospital with injuries.

Dyous assigned Pinder to be the dean of pledges and James to be the vice dean, the warrant states.

READ MORE: 3 arrested in Miami frat hazing with ‘repeated beatings with canes and paddles’

Wearing a red jumpsuit, Pinder, who was still at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Monday morning, appeared in bond court. He was ordered to have no contact with the victims, his co-defendants or the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Pinder, the judge said, posted a $75,000 bond. He will be placed on total lockdown house arrest, the most restrictive form of house arrest.

Pinder was the only man of the three to appear in bond court on Monday.

James already posted a $75,000 bond and was placed on house arrest, court records show. Dyous does not appear on the Miami-Dade jail search, and court records don’t mention him posting bail.

According to the warrant, the alleged hazing began on April 1, at an apartment located at 400 SW 107th Ave. in Sweetwater, and continued through April 2 and April 3 at the same location. The hazing incident continued on April 4 at a residence in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, located at 10277 SW 183rd St.

The investigation began after Sweetwater police responded on April 22 to a report involving a fraternity pledge who was hospitalized following an alleged hazing incident. One pledge, a UM student, suffered severe kidney injuries and was hospitalized but was expected to recover, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The second victim denied being hazed, but admitted that he had been hospitalized with serious injuries around the time of the alleged incidents, according to the warrant.

Pinder, the warrant says, also ordered the victims to wrap paddles in electrical tape and write the words “Kaboom” and “Kapow” on them.

After obtaining a search warrant for an apartment, investigators obtained two canes and a red, wooden paddle handle, the warrant states.

Pinder is a 2021 Florida International University graduate assigned to the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Field Office. Pinder had been employed by the Secret Service since September 2023, according to his LinkedIn page. The Secret Service did not respond to questions about his employment status.

Pinder’s attorney, Justin Beckham, told the Herald that his client was “grossly overcharged.”

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In a statement, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said, “In Florida, hazing is abuse, and it is a crime. Its victims too often lie in their graves and in hospital beds.”

A history of hazing?

Hazing incidents involving fraternities are not uncommon across campuses nationwide, said Dwight Bullard, a former Florida state senator and longtime member of Kappa Alpha Psi. And, he noted, they can sometimes involve interactions between undergraduates and alumni.

“You have chapters where it never happens, and then you have some that unfortunately have these repeat occurrences,” Bullard said. “Sometimes people have a view of tradition that isn’t grounded in anything, and they repeat bad behaviors from the past.”

Kappa Alpha Psi’s national governing documents explicitly prohibit hazing. Members involved in prohibited conduct, the documents say, are subject to disciplinary action under the fraternity’s rules.

The Herald reached out to Kappa Alpha Psi’s national headquarters, Kappa Alpha Psi’s Miami Chapter, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council executive board, the umbrella organization that governs Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities, but hasn’t received a response as of publication.

As a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Bullard said he feels “disgusted” that such incidents continue to occur.

“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.”

Kappa Alpha Psi chapters have been tied to several high-profile hazing cases despite the fraternity’s national ban on the practice.

In 2025, Miami University in Ohio suspended its Kappa Alpha Psi chapter through 2040 after an investigation found prospective new members were subjected to physical abuse, including paddling and caning.

The university released a report in August documenting all hazing violations that occurred in the five years prior to Aug. 1, 2025. In the Kappa Alpha Psi incident, which occurred on Feb. 4, 2025, a hearing officer determined “it was more likely than not” that the fraternity caused physical harm to “at least one person, including physically striking and beating.”

Almost two decades ago, two members of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Florida A&M University chapter were sentenced in connection to a hazing incident that left a pledge requiring surgery from a damaged eardrum. The two fraternity brothers were sentenced to two years in prison, following Florida enacting a tougher anti-hazing law in 2005.

Bullard said national organizations often respond to hazing by tightening oversight or disciplining chapters involved in misconduct.

“In incidents that have happened in the past, the national organization has tried to rein in chapters to make sure these things don’t continue,” Bullard said. “Because it’s dangerous and has the potential to impact the school and the organization in a number of different ways. The stance is that it should not happen, and a chapter that has an incident could face suspension or termination.”

Attorney David Bianchi, who has represented families of hazing victims, said in a statement that it was “unimaginable” that a Secret Service agent would “engage in the same illegal and dangerous behavior as drunk fraternity members.”

“In all hazing incidents, the offenders think the rules do not apply to them and they think they will get away with it,” Bianchi said. “Sometimes that arrogance catches up with them as it apparently did here.”

Read more Secret Service agent accused in Miami-Dade frat hazing bonds out of jail

This story was originally published July 27, 2026 at 11:30 AM.