Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez doesn’t think much of outgoing State Attorney Andrew Bain’s assessment that he is untrustworthy.
In his first public comment about being placed on the state’s Brady System – a collection of law enforcement officials deemed “untrustworthy” – Lopez called the action by outgoing State Attorney Andrew Bain “personal and political.”
A letter Bain sent to Lopez dated Dec. 30 was made public this week that outlines Bain’s issues with how Lopez handled an unfortunate situation during the investigation when 13-year-old Madeline Soto went missing, and her body was found south of St. Cloud.
“I made this decision following my review of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation into your publication of a photograph depicting the killing of a minor victim, as well as the findings in your administrative inquiry,” Bain wrote in the letter.
A photo of the crime scene, where Soto’s body was discovered on March 1 along Hickory Tree Road, briefly appeared on one of Lopez’s social media accounts the next morning among other photos of a public event. In a subsequent radio interview, Lopez denied the photo was of Soto, but after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated, he claimed the photo was accidentally posted and he issued an apology. The state filed a non-criminal public records violation, and Lopez paid a $250 fine Dec. 18 to avoid a public court hearing.
In a statement issued late Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office said Lopez cited political pressure as the reason for Bain’s action, and “felt it important to address the matter personally.”
“This was a political gimmick by Andrew Bain who lost an election. In between the time that Bain sent his initial letter about his ‘concerns’ and the time he added me to the Brady List, there were requests for me to endorse Bain. I did not endorse him. I was subsequently added to the Brady List. I think his decisions were personal and political. I’m sad that Andrew Bain put politics before people. I did not lie, and I will always stay focused on what really matters – fighting crime and protecting the community.”
Bain’s harsh criticism of Lopez and the internal investigation done into the matter centered on how said investigation was actually an improper “inquiry”, and how Lopez later lied about the photo.
“An ‘investigation’ is warranted in that situation more than any other,” Bain said in the Dec. 30 letter. “I am concerned that an ‘inquiry’ was selected and done to ensure you would ‘not be questioned’ under policy since an ‘investigation’ would have mandated your answering questions under oath.”
Regarding his denial the photo was of the victim in the radio interview, Bain observed, “When viewed in this proper context, it is hard to read your immediate answer as anything but an attempt to claim the photo you posted was not the victim in an attempt to lessen your public responsibility for a violation of Florida public records laws. This is particularly true when your public statement then pivots to trying to blame political rivals for discussing the photo you posted.”
Lopez is on the long list of witnesses against Stephan Sterns, who has been charged in Madeline Soto’s murder along with another long list of child sexual assault charges. “Given your status as a witness, your statements to the media could be used to impeach you pursuant to Florida Statute,” Bain wrote. “This leaves us no choice but to include you in our Brady Identification System so defense counsel may evaluate your statements for impeachment and, if appropriate, a court may make a determination as to their admissibility for that purpose.”
Bain isn’t the first State Attorney candidate Lopez has openly criticized. In March 2023, the Sheriff asserted that former State Attorney Monique Worrell wasn’t aggressively prosecuting drug trafficking cases the Sheriff’s Office turned over to Worrell’s office.
While Worrell responded that Lopez’s allegations were “false narratives and misleading information” and a “seemingly coordinated attack,” Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Worrell from office five months later. Worrell subsequently defeated Bain in the Nov. 5 state attorney election.
