The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions of a former South Carolina sheriff (AKA “Big A”) and two deputies

This appeal challenges various aspects of a trial during which an elected county sheriff and two of his deputies were convicted and sentenced for abuses of power by which they enriched themselves and bullied others.

George Underwood was elected in 2012 to serve as the Sheriff of Chester County, South Carolina, which is a small rural county with a population of roughly 32,000 people in the northern part of the State. Exercising his broad power as Sheriff of a small county, he enriched himself by directing his deputies to do work, while on the public payroll, to improve his personal property, including converting and expanding a modest barn into a home entertainment center. He also enriched himself and others by devising a system with Lieutenant Johnny Neal to skim money from the extra compensation payable to his deputies for their work manning drunk-driver automobile checkpoints in the County. In a similar vein, Sheriff Underwood and Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse used County money to pay for first-class travel and the travel expenses of their wives when attending a conference in Reno, Nevada, contrary to existing County procurement rules. Finally, he made purchases for his office that did not follow the established County procurement procedures.

Sheriff Underwood also abused his authority in the County by targeting enforcement and harassment against opponents and refusing to investigate offenses reported against friends and supporters. And on one occasion in particular, he arrested a citizen without probable cause who was recording on his cellphone a serious accident from which a driver had fled. Provoked by the citizen’s recording, repeated flippant comments, and slow compliance with Sheriff Underwood’s direction that he retreat to his porch, Sheriff Underwood placed the citizen under arrest without probable cause, alleging that the citizen had engaged in disorderly conduct and detaining him in jail for three nights.

After the FBI uncovered the corruption, as well as the violation of the citizen’s civil rights, Chief Deputy Sprouse and Lt. Neal conspired to lie and fabricate documents to cover up the Sheriff’s Office’s misconduct.

The government charged Sheriff Underwood, Chief Deputy Sprouse, and Lt. Neal with various violations of federal law in a 17-count indictment, and, after a two-week trial, the jury convicted them variously on 13 counts.

Upgrading the barn

Most significantly, the deputies, as employees of the Sheriff’s Office, were directed to expand and convert Sheriff’s Underwood’s modest barn into a large entertainment center, with a bar, a bar sitting area, and a dance floor. The refurbished barn, referred to as his “man cave,” also had a television, a large beer-storage refrigerator, decorative lighting, and ceiling fans. The officers were instructed to report during regular work hours to the barn, in old clothes, and to record their time on timesheets as if they were working on the business of the County. And the County compensated them accordingly.

The various challenges to the convictions were all rejected. (Mike Frisch)