A judge on Thursday denied a motion to compel by the defense for suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez in his illegal gambling case.
The hearing was for the defense’s motion asking for prosecutors to provide discovery.
A judge denied the motion, but both parties said an agreement was worked out to have someone from the statewide prosecutor’s office available to meet with the defense to get access to the evidence.
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“It’s voluminous, the discovery,” said defense attorney Migdalia. “We may need to go there with terabytes and whatnot. It may be a full day that we’re there, I don’t really know, but that’s what’s going to happen. So we’re going to meet and hopefully we’ll get the rest of the discovery.”
Migdalia said Lopez is desperate for his day in court.
“He understands that this may be a long process,” he added.
“Today was kind of productive in a sense where it’s in writing. Let’s get this moving,” said Mary Ibrahim, another defense attorney representing Lopez.
Prosecutors have accused Lopez of using his influence as sheriff to collect more than $600,000 in illicit payments while operating Eclipse Social Club, a now-shuttered gaming room in Kissimmee that allegedly housed slot machines and other illegal gambling devices.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez from office following his arrest in June.
Lopez’s wife, Robin Severance Lopez, pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.
Krishna Deokaran, who was accused of owning and operating several illegal casinos in Osceola and Lake counties, also pleaded guilty to money laundering last week. He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced by a judge at a future date.
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Prosecutors said Deokaran was prepared to testify that he gave a tour of the Eclipse Social Club to Marcos Lopez and his wife in 2022.
Later that year, Deokaran allegedly gave an envelope full of cash from the casino proceeds to Robin Severance Lopez in the parking lot of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office that was intended for her husband, court records show.
Carol Cote and Sharon Fedrick, who allegedly worked for the illegal casinos, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in the fall. Another co-defendant, Sheldon Wetherholt, pleaded no contest to the same charges. All will be sentenced on a future date.
Ying Zhang, who prosecutors named as one of Lopez’s co-defendants, has not yet been arrested and may be in China.