Jury finds former Chester County Sheriff Underwood, deputies guilty of conspiracy

Former Chester County Sheriff Alex “Big A” Underwood and two of his former top deputies were found guilty by a federal jury late Friday of numerous corruption charges related to a wide-ranging conspiracy.

The former deputies, Deputy Chief Robert Sprouse, 46, and Lt. Johnny Neal, 41, also were found guilty of various charges contained in a 17-count indictment issued last September. That indictment contained more charges than the two previous indictments in his case.

All three also were found not guilty of a few charges contained in the indictment, but the guilty verdicts far outweighed them.

Underwood, 57, Chester County’s first African American sheriff, and his two former deputies sat motionless by their lawyers as the verdicts were read out in a hushed courtroom. The verdict came on the 10th day of a trial in which federal prosecutors put up some two dozen witnesses and the defense, just two. Underwood, Neal and Sprouse exercised their Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

Underwood had been elected in 2012 and reelected in 2016 to four-year terms.

After being indicted in 2019, Underwood was suspended from office and lost his 2020 reelection bid.

Underwood, of Chester, was convicted of seven counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, deprivation of rights and federal program theft and was found not guilty of three other charges.

Sprouse, of Ridgeway, was found guilty of four counts of conspiracy, falsification of records, false statements and federal program theft.

And Neal, of Lancaster, was found guilty of conspiracy, deprivation of rights, wire fraud, federal program theft and falsification of records on 12 counts. Neal was found not guilty on one charge — the excessive force alleged against Fort Lawn resident Kevin Simpson in the original arrest that started the investigation against all three in 2018.

None of the men spoke to reporters as they left the courthouse Friday with family members.

Federal prosecutors, Rebecca Schuman and William Miller, did not have any comment either on what was a hard-fought, grueling trial with numerous objections by each side.

Afterwards, presiding U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs released all three defendants on personal recognizance bonds.

They will be sentenced in two or three months after pre-sentence reports are prepared on each man. Each man faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a Justice Department spokesman said Friday night. However, since none have prior criminal backgrounds, they could receive lighter sentences.

The indictment in the case charged the three with conspiring “to use their positions to enrich themselves by obtaining money to which they were not entitled, cover up their misconduct and obstruct investigations into their misconduct,” a Justice spokesman said.

Investigating the sheriff

Over the last 10 days, the prosecutors’ case shone a light on the lack of state financial or other oversight on the offices of sheriffs, who have wide latitude in spending money under their control and how they treat deputies.

Deputies serve at the pleasure of the sheriff. Sheriffs, who are state officials, are elected by their counties, whose local governments have little control over the sheriffs’ offices.

Prosecutors claimed Underwood skimmed federal DUI task-force money and used deputy labor that is partially paid for by state and federal sources for his own benefit in building a “man-cave” inside Underwood’s party barn. Neal was alleged to have been part of the DUI money scheme, and all three were alleged to have been in a conspiracy to provide deputy labor for non-police activities.

Prosecutors also focused on a claim that Underwood illegally arrested Chester County resident Simpson for videotaping a police scene while standing on his own property, then conspired with Sprouse and Neal to cover it up after the FBI started investigating.

Lawyers for Underwood, Neal and Sprouse said the allegations were overblown.

Federal prosecutors said Underwood and Neal carried out an unlawful arrest and then Neal and Sprouse helped cover it up. Although prosecutors charged Neal had used excessive force in the arrest, the jury found Neal not guilty on that charge.

In a closing argument to the jury Thursday, Underwood’s defense attorney Stanley Myers called jurors’ attention to the prosecutors’ out-of-state roots, stressing several times that they came from Washington, D.C. Prosecutors Schuman and Miller are members of a special U.S. Department of Justice integrity team that prosecutes corruption.

Underwood was represented by Myers and Jake Moore. Sprouse was represented by Michael Laubshire and Neal by Andrew Johnston.

Moore and Myers said they expect to appeal but have not yet reviewed the jury’s decision. Both also said they respected the jury’s verdicts, but they did not agree that the government proved a case against Underwood.

“We had serious questions with the government’s case,” Moore said. “But, obviously, the jury agreed with them. We don’t make that decision. They do.”

Moore said the cost of Underwood defending himself has left him to spend “every cent he ever made” and said Underwood is “broken financially,” but described Underwood as an “excellent police officer.”

“He (Underwood) is one of the finest people I have ever known,” Moore said.

Myers said the guilty convictions against Underwood had to do with three matters: a trip to Reno where Underwood and Sprouse took their wives first-class and at county expense, renovations to Underwood’s barn that prosecutors called a “party barn” and “man cave,” and wire fraud from DUI checkpoints where Underwood was accused of skimming money from the government.

Neal’s lawyer, Andrew Johnston, said he was “deeply disappointed with the overall verdicts,” but found it important Neal was exonerated of excessive force in Simpson’s arrest.

“Johnny Neal is a good man and he will get through this,” Johnston said after the trial.

It was Underwood’s, Sprouse’s and Neal’s involvement in Simpson’s November 2018 arrest and in the late filing of reports in the case that led to a more wide-ranging FBI investigation. During that investigation, the FBI documented the alleged misuse of deputies by having them work on Underwood’s private property to build his barn, and to allegations that Underwood and Neal had skimmed money from a DUI checkpoint operation.

Evidence in the case included a 27-minute video by Simpson that he livestreamed on Facebook in November 2018 during a confrontation with Underwood and Neal. The dustup took place on Simpson’s property in front of his house, where Simpson said he had a right to be.

At the time, police, fire and EMS officials were conducting a rescue operation after a horrific car crash, a manhunt was being carried out for a fugitive and a medical evacuation helicopter was landing.

Underwood arrested Simpson but no incident report was filed until January 2019 when the FBI started investigating, testimony showed.

A history of corrupt SC sheriffs

In the last 11 years, 12 South Carolina sheriffs, now including Underwood, have been charged with crimes or convicted:

▪ In 2010, former Union County Sheriff Howard Wells was sentenced to 90 days in prison for financial offenses, including lying to federal agents.

▪ In 2011, a jury found former Lee County Sheriff E. J. Melvin guilty of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, extortion, theft from a government agency, illegal financial transactions and making false statements to a government agent. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

▪ In 2012, former Saluda County Sheriff Jason Booth left office after pleading guilty to charges of misusing inmates at his county jail. He received probation.

▪ In 2013, former Abbeville County Sheriff Charles Goodwin stepped down after pleading guilty to misconduct in office for receiving kickbacks. He was put on probation and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

▪ In 2014, former Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker was convicted by a jury on charges he gave inmates at his jail access to women, weapons, alcohol and the internet. He received two years in prison.

▪ In 2015, longtime Lexington County Sheriff Jimmy Metts was sentenced to a year in federal prison for his role in a scheme to help undocumented immigrants get out of his jail.

▪ Also in 2015, former Williamsburg County Sheriff Michael Johnson was sentenced to 30 months in prison in an identity theft scheme he facilitated by helping an accomplice create false paperwork on official sheriff’s office documents.

▪ In 2019, former Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis was sentenced to a year in prison after a jury convicted him for using the power of his office to coerce a female employee into an extramarital affair. Lewis served several weeks in prison but has been released on bond. Remaining charges against him were dismissed in February, according to the Greenville News and other media reports.

▪ In January 2020, former Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone pleaded guilty to embezzlement in connection with charges of stealing funds from his office to spend on personal matters. Boone was sentenced to five years in prison but that sentence was suspended to probation. However, in March, after Boone was charged with domestic violence, and he was sent to prison for four and a half months for violating probation. In December, Boone pleaded guilty to domestic violence and again received probation, this time on condition he undergo 26 weeks of domestic abuse counseling.

▪ Also in 2020, former Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland was sentenced to probation after being found guilty of various charges including getting deputies to work on his property and beating his girlfriend.

▪ In 2020, former Union County Union County Sheriff David Taylor was indicted for misconduct and sending a sexually obscene photo from his county cell phone. His case is pending.

Jarrod Bruder, executive director of the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association, released this statement: “Today’s verdict against former Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood once again proves that no one is above the law. Sheriffs and their deputies work for the people. Anytime that law enforcement leaders make selfish decisions, they violate the sacred bond between police and the communities they serve.”

Bruder said his association is placing greater emphasis in its training on leadership, ethics and accountability and praised current Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey. Dorsey has made “great strides to improve accountability, transparency and service,” Bruder said.

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Jury finds former Chester County Sheriff Underwood, deputies guilty of conspiracy."