JACKSON, Miss. — A judge on Thursday sentenced two former Mississippi sheriff's deputies from the self-proclaimed “rogue squad” to federal prison for torturing and abusing two black men in racist attacks.
Brett Morris McAlpin, 53, was ordered to serve 327 months, over 27 years.
The last person to be sentenced was former deputy Joshua Hartfield, 32, who was sentenced to 121 months in prison, or about 10 years.
McAlpin and Hartfield are two of six former Rankin County sheriff's deputies who have admitted to racist torture of two black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. be.
McAlpin pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy against rights, obstruction of justice, deprivation of rights in the name of law, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
McAlpin was led handcuffed and shackled into a courtroom in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, where he nodded to family members in attendance.
In January 2023, McAlpin received a call from a white man complaining that Jenkins and Parker were living with a white woman in a home in Braxton, Mississippi.
McAlpin then sent a text message to a group calling themselves “The Goon Squad.” The group is known for “using excessive force and failing to report it,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
The Goon Squad consisted of McAlpin, Hartfield, Christian Dedmon (29), Jeffrey Middleton (46), Hunter Elward (31), and Daniel Opdyke (28).
The group then went to the home without a warrant, assaulted the two black men with stun guns, forced them to drink liquids, punched and kicked them and used racial slurs, according to the Associated Press.
The Justice Department said the two were also assaulted using dildos. According to police, Dedmon fired the gun twice to intimidate the men.
Elward removed a bullet from the gun's chamber and shoved the gun into Jenkins' mouth before pulling the trigger. The first time, the bullet did not fire, but when he pulled the trigger the second time, it slit his tongue, broke his jaw and caused the bullet to exit his neck, the Justice Department said.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Dedmon to 40 years in prison and Opdyke to 17 1/2 years. He sentenced Elward on Tuesday to nearly 20 years and Middleton to 17 1/2 years.
Jenkins' attorney read a victim statement on his behalf prior to sentencing, describing McAlpin as a “chief executive.”
“Brett McAlpin said he was going to douse this house with gasoline and set it on fire,” the statement said. “I felt like a slave.”
Parker read out his own victim impact statement, saying McAlpin considered himself a “thug” and asking the judge to sentence McAlpin for “many years” to give him time to think about what he had done. He said he asked for it.
“Sick, sick, sick…I feel like I'm a little more respected, a little more dignified than the lead investigator in Rankin County,” Parker said.
McAlpin was able to address the court, but his voice trembled many times while speaking. He apologized to both men for his actions, but stared straight ahead of him and never turned around to look at them or their families.
“This was all wrong — very, very wrong,” McAlpin said. “This is not the way people should treat each other.”
“I hope your family can move on and have a better life.”
Tom Juneau reported from Jackson, Mississippi, and Doha Madani from New York City.
