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Former Chester County sheriff, deputy released from federal prison

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019, file photo, suspended Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood gives a thumbs-up as he walks out of the federal courthouse in Columbia, S.C.(AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
FILE - In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019, file photo, suspended Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood gives a thumbs-up as he walks out of the federal courthouse in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)

Former Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood and former Deputy Johnny Neal were released from federal custody on Jan. 17, ahead of their original projected release date, Jan. 23.

Underwood and Neal were both sentenced to federal prison in the summer of 2022, after being convicted on charges of theft and falsifying records.

Along with former Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse, Underwood and Neal were convicted of conspiracy to violate federal law and to commit federal program theft in April 2021. Underwood and Neal were additionally convicted of deprivation of rights and wire fraud. Sprouse and Neal were additionally convicted of falsifying records, and Sprouse was found guilty of making false statements.

The Underwood saga began after the detention of a man who had recorded the results of a police chase from his own yard in Fort Lawn. Federal prosecutors said that Sprouse and Neal had submitted a concocted police report – that the man they’d detained had verbally assaulted officers outside his property – to the FBI.

With a federal investigation underway in 2019, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Max Dorsey, a longtime SLED narcotics officer, to serve as Chester County’s sheriff as the case against Underwood progressed.

By 2020, federal investigators were looking deep into the CCSO, and Underwood at one point faced as many as 51 years in federal prison on a suite of charges that included using public money to lavish his wife and stealing overtime meant for his deputies.

In that year’s election, Underwood ran to retain his seat – he was still the sheriff of record during the investigation – but lost to Dorsey, who was reelected in 2024.

By the time the federal trial came along in 2022, Underwood faced significantly less jail time than he once had. After a 10-day trial that June, Underwood and Neal were both sentenced to 46 months and Sprouse was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Sprouse was released after serving 15 months, in November of 2023.

Scott Morgan is the Upstate multimedia reporter for South Carolina Public Radio, based in Rock Hill. He cut his teeth as a newspaper reporter and editor in New Jersey before finding a home in public radio in Texas. Scott joined South Carolina Public Radio in March of 2019. His work has appeared in numerous national and regional publications as well as on NPR and MSNBC. He's won numerous state, regional, and national awards for his work including a national Edward R. Murrow.