State files motion regarding a conflict with defense attorney
While a motion filed by suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez’s defense team to compel state prosecutors to provide discovery evidence was denied, the action did pave the way for the two sides to meet and gain access to the evidence in his felony racketeering case.
Lake County Judge Brian Welke denied the motion without prejudice Thursday, meaning it is eligible to be refiled in Lopez’s case tied to his role in the operation of illegal gambling operations, including one on West U.S. Highway 192 in Osceola County. But, members of the prosecution and defense teams said Thursday an agreement is being hammered out for the two sides to be able to meet for mutual access to the evidence.
Lopez is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. State investigators say he had a deep role in helping acquire The Eclipse Club and protect it from police scrutiny in exchange for campaign contributions they say may have reached $700,000.
Some of the discovery the defense has requested includes surveillance video from the U.S. 192 location Homeland Security Investigations says Lopez hand picked for Krishna Deokaran, the alleged owner and operator of the illegal establishments in Lake and Osceola County. A 255-page affidavit detailed HSI’s evidence against Lopez, including how cash payments were made and text messages dating back to 2019, before he was elected Sheriff in November 2020.
All of Lopez’s co-defendants, including his estranged wife Robin Severance-Lopez, Carol Cote, Sheldon Wetherall and Sharon Federick have pled guilty and been sentenced, with an assurance of their testimony should the former Sheriff go to trial as part of their deals. Deokaran still awaits sentencing and could face up to five years in prison for his role.
Ying “Kate” Zhang, is the lone co-defendant who hasn’t been arrested; investigators believe she fled to her native China, which doesn’t have a fugitive reciprocation agreement with the United States.
That leaves Marcos Lopez as the only conspirator to have pled not guilty. He and his defense team of Migdalia Perez and Mary Ibrahim say they continue to work toward a jury trial—dates have not yet been set—and that the process is likely to be “a long one”, in line with the rest of the process, as the arrest occurred eight months ago.
There’s another motion in Lopez’s case, filed by prosecutors on Jan. 23. They claim a conflict with Migdalia Perez, one of Lopez’s defense attorneys. Specifically, the state claims Perez has a potential conflict since her law firm represented at least two Osceola County Sheriff’s employees who are state witnesses in other criminal cases.
“The State anticipates that the above-styled cause will be reset for trial and the facts and circumstances surrounding this matter have created potential for conflict,” prosecutors noted in their motion. “The State is concerned that the prior attorney-client relationship with these listed state witnesses gives rise to obligations of loyalty and confidentiality that may become an issue during the litigation.”
Perez wrote in a Jan. 24 response to the court that all of the dealings were with Perez’s fellow attorney in the firm.
“Lopez’s counsel never met privately with (the subject) or discussed his case. At most, counsel served as second chair at a pretrial detention hearing … notably, the underlying criminal matter was domestic and unrelated to the charges in the Lopez case.”
The response also noted Lopez redirected the second subject to other counsel, and the parties didn’t know that subject would be a witness in Lopez’s matter. Shortly after, the second subject withdrew from Lopez’s firm and acquired new representation.
“Counsel never communicated with (the subject) regarding the facts of his case, or any confidential communications that would be of concern in the matter of the Lopez case.”
That motion is scheduled to be heard at a Tuesday, March 31 hearing.
