CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) Sheriff Max Dorsey sworn into office this Wednesday inside the Chester County Courthouse. Dorsey was sworn in to a standing ovation. He comes with 24 years of experience working for SLED.
The Chester native was asked by Governor Henry McMaster to step in as the sheriff following the sudden indictments of former Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood and two of his deputies late Tuesday afternoon. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, on November 20, 2018, law enforcement from the Chester County Sheriff’s Office including Sheriff Alex Underwood, Lieutenant Johnny Neal Junior and Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse, responded to a car accident and a suspect on the run in Fort Lawn.
A man named Kevin Simpson living nearby used his cellphone to live-stream the law enforcement activity. The report says The Sheriff demanded Simpson turn over his cellphone. It goes on to say Lt. Neal placed Simpson in handcuffs and escorted him to a vehicle, knocking him to the ground, and injuring Simpson’s head and elbow. Simpson spent three nights in jail. Details say Sprouse entered Simpson’s home without a warrant, and retrieved a phone. The report also says Sprouse allegedly gave that phone to a deputy in charge of evidence.
The Attorney’s Office says in January of this year, Sprouse and Neal created an incident report containing false statements about the events that shifted blame to that deputy.
they also say Underwood and Sprouse made false statements to the FBI about those same events.
Simpson’s attorney, Kevin Stubbs, says he believes the fact that the entire situation was live streamed on Facebook was crucial in making these indictments happen.
Stubbs anticipates more will be coming out. As for each county, the former sheriff, lieutenant and chief deputy are all facing fines and multiple years in federal prison.
