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The judge’s ruling was suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos LopezThe case denied the motion to compel discovery while the proceedings continue.
On Thursday, February 5, a Florida judge denied a motion from Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez’s defense team to compel the prosecution to provide discovery in the illegal gambling case. Lopez was charged with using his influence as sheriff to collect more than $600,000 in illegal payments while operating the Eclipse Social Club, a now-closed illegal gaming room in Kissimmee where customers could use unlicensed slot machines and other illegal gambling devices. The investigation has led to the suspension of the sheriff.
Although the judge denied the discovery motion, the defense and prosecution reached an agreement to send the state prosecutor’s office and a defense representative to access the evidence.
“This is huge, the discovery,” defense attorney Migdalia said Click on Orlando. “Maybe we should go there with terabytes and whatnot. It might be a whole day that we’ll be there, I don’t really know, but that’s what’s going to happen. So we’ll meet and hopefully we’ll get the rest of the discovery.”
As the court dates continue, Migdalia stressed that Lopez wants the case to continue and her time in court to continue, even though she “understands it can be a long process.”
Beyond the involvement of former Osceola sheriff Marcos Lopez
Lopez’s wife, Robin Severance Lopezpleaded guilty to money laundering, earning a sentence of 24 months probation. Another individual involved in the case, Krishna Deokaran, also pleaded guilty to money laundering after being accused of owning and operating several illegal casinos in Osceola and Lake counties. He now faces up to five years in prison, with his sentence yet to be served.
Deokaran is willing to testify that he visited the Eclipse Social Club to the Lopez couple in 2022. It is also believed that he later gave Lopez an envelope full of money in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office.
Prosecutors said Deokaran is ready to testify that he gave the Eclipse Social Club tour to Marcos Lopez and his wife in 2022.
Later that year, Deokaran allegedly gave an envelope filled with cash from casino proceeds to Robin Severance Lopez in the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office parking lot that was intended for her husband, court records show.
Featured image: Lake County Courts
The post The judge blocked the discovery motion in the unfortunate case of sheriff Marcos Lopez first appeared in ReadWrite.
