The Rogue Deputies

The Rogue Deputies were an organization of corrupt Sheriff's Deputies who orchestrated a series of murders in Season Nine of Criminal Minds.

Background
The corrupt Deputies were organized after Owen McGregor became involved in a wide variety of criminal enterprises. At some point, in an effort to keep their activities a secret, they orchestrated the death of their Sheriff (whom they saw as loose ends) in a shootout during a drug raid. However, when that failed, they poisoned him instead. The entire conspiracy was witnessed by a group of prostitutes employed by local Christian preacher Justin Mills, with whom McGregor made a deal to keep himself and his prostitutes silent. As a result, the Deputies threatened Dinah Stidham, a bartender who collected the prostitutes' money for Mills, into compliance, warning her that they would kill her son if she disobeyed their orders. When Peter Coleman took over the position of Sheriff, they began killing again in 2013, starting with a male prostitute named Lucas Wagner, who worked for Mills. Six months later, they murdered a female prostitute named Hanna Kelly (who also worked for Mills), dumping her body one jurisdiction over. For both victims, they carved wounds onto their backs as a reference to a detail of Mills's past (in 2009, he had carved wounds into the back of a Canadian prostitute before arriving in Texas).

Angels
Five months after his second murder, they killed Abigail Jones. As a result, the BAU is summoned after Coleman appeals to Mateo Cruz, whom he knew. Two days into the BAU's investigation, during which Mills offers his assistance, the Deputies kill another one of Mills's prostitutes, Tabitha Ryerson, although their M.O. intentionally deviates greatly from that demonstrated on the last three victims in order to further set up Mills as the perpetrator. However, when the BAU became convinced of Mills's innocence, the Deputies immediately changed their strategy, orchestrating a shootout between Mills and the BAU, during which McGregor successfully kills Coleman before fleeing.

Modus Operandi
The Deputies initially targeted their own Sheriff, attempting to stage his death through a shootout during a drug raid. However, when that failed, they fatally poisoned him instead. Starting in 2013, they targeted both male and female prostitutes working under Mills's employment, luring them in with the ruse of sex before binding them, abducting them, and torturing them by carving wounds into their back with a knife, all as part of a consensual S&M. The amount and the deepness of the carve wounds would always increase with each victim. Once he was done, they would kill them by shooting them in the back of the head execution-style using a handgun. In the case of Tabitha Ryerson, they shot her in the back of the neck before carving wounds onto her back, not after. Post-mortem, they washed her legs in lavender (as a reference to spikenard, which is mentioned in the Gospel as the ointment used for Jesus's feet) and posed her body; this deviation in their M.O. was to convince the BAU that Tabitha's murder was more religion-oriented than the previous ones and therefore lead to suspicion being placed on Mills. Later, when the BAU began to catch onto their true intentions, they started targeting each member of the team. Little else is known about their other crimes.

Profile
The ring was initially profiled to be a single unsub, described to be a white male in his early 30s. While his M.O. is indicative to that of a sadist, it is believed that there is an underlying pathology to him, which is called a "wound collector", someone who uses a lifetime of slights, grievances, and wrongdoings as a justification for violence. He is low-key and almost submissive in public, something that he uses to attract a prostitute. However, once under the safety of isolation, his real nature will be revealed. This is the type of man who would anonymously express himself online, raging against how prostitutes are filled with disease and filth, and therefore deserve what is coming to them, which is most likely to cover the rejection of a woman or a spouse who has wronged him in some way. The latter fact indicates that he has a working-class or part-time job, giving him time to plan and execute the murders. He is also strong and good with his hands, and probably drives a work-truck or a large vehicle, which allows him to move his victims' bodies and carry the tools he uses for posing them. Tabitha Ryerson's murder means that he is losing control; he killed her in her home and transported her body to the woods so he could mutilate her post-mortem. The public nature of the display of Tabitha's body is a message to the authorities; he is showing them that he is smarter than them.

As the investigation progressed, it became clear that a group is responsible for the killings. There is one leader, identified as McGregor, and one lieutenant, identified as Bennett. The members of this group are willing to murder anyone (including their own Sheriffs) to maintain the secrecy of their criminal activities. However, when it was clear that there would be no way out, the Deputies are willing to die rather than go to jail, but not before taking anyone with them.

Known Members

 * Leader: Owen McGregor . Portrayed by Michael Trucco.
 * Lieutenant: Marty Bennett . Portrayed by Brady Smith.
 * Followers:
 * Vicky Lorenzana . Portrayed by Romi Dias.
 * Several unnamed others . All portrayed by uncredited actors.

Mutual Victims

 * Unspecified date: The unnamed previous Sheriff
 * 2013:
 * June 21: Lucas Wagner
 * November 27: Hanna Kelly
 * 2014:
 * May 4: Abigail Jones
 * May 6: Tabitha Ryerson
 * May 7:
 * Killed both sometime before the bar shootout and left their bodies at the bar:
 * Belinda Clark
 * Jesse Moore
 * Preacher Justin Mills
 * The attempted shooting during the pullover:
 * David Rossi
 * Alex Blake
 * The attempted hospital shooting:
 * Spencer Reid
 * Penelope Garcia
 * The junkyard shootout:
 * Aaron Hotchner
 * Jennifer Jareau

Appearances

 * Season Nine
 * Angels
 * Demons