KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez was expected to face a judge on Wednesday for a bond reduction hearing and a request to remove the GPS monitoring condition of his release, but the hearing was canceled. 

What You Need To Know

  • Suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez working to request a bond reduction

  • Lopez's bond is set at $1 million. He is one of five named defendants in alleged illegal gambling operation case stemming from Lake to Osceola counties

  • Lopez is the only defendant who is not out on bond or who has not been taken into custody yet

  • One of the circumstances of Lopez's bond is that any money he uses cannot be affiliated with illegal activity or his alleged involvement in the gambling operation

He remains in custody in Lake County on racketeering charges tied to an alleged illegal gambling operation. His bond is set at $1 million.

Out of five defendants named in court documents, Lopez is the only one behind bars.

One of the circumstances of his current bond is that any money he uses cannot be affiliated with illegal activity or his alleged involvement in the gambling operation.

Orlando-based attorney Jonathan Rose said this requirement is typical in cases where the legitimacy of certain funds could be under question.

“(This) typically happens in drug cases, fraud cases, things like that, where they’re ordinarily someone who would have assets that may not have been legitimately gained,” Rose said. “The courts don’t want people to benefit in theory from being able to pay bond, get out of jail by virtue of the crime they supposedly committed.”

Investigators believe that the alleged gambling operation has generated more than $21 million.

Rose said Lopez’s bond is higher than what many may have expected, but he said having proof of where the money came from is crucial to uphold integrity. 

Requiring a trace of the money in cases like Lopez’s is a common practice.

“One does that by providing bank statements, investment statements, whatever the case may be,” Rose said. “If you can’t, then the state attorney’s office or statewide prosecutors or whatever the case maybe won’t accept it, and the court certainly won’t accept it unless you can trace the legitimacy of that money each step of the way from its original point.”

As it stands, conditions for Lopez’s release include posting bond, surrendering his passport and firearms and wearing a GPS monitor.

Of the five defendants named in the case, law enforcement still hasn’t taken Ying Zhang or Sheldon Wetherholt into custody. Co-defendants named Sharon Fedrick and Carol Cote have posted their bond.

Spectrum News 13 Spoke with Cote over the phone on Tuesday, though she stated she “did not want to make a comment” and did not give information relating to the charges against her.