6:30 P.M. THURSDAY UPDATE: Marcos Lopez left the Lake County Jail minutes ago. He was escorted out by defense attorney Migdalia Perez and others. He left without commenting, and was led into a silver pickup truck and left the facility.
He's been outfitted with a GPS monitoring device, and has been commanded to surrender his passport and all firearms in his possession.
4 P.M. THURSDAY: Court records show that former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, arrested three weeks ago to the day, has fulfilled the requirements to post his $1 million bond and may be leaving the Lake County Jail Thursday.
He was arrested on June 5 on felony racketeering charges, as FDLE and Homeland Security investigators said their investigation showed he was involved in an illegal gambling operation that had a a Kissimmee location and others in the area. The reports said he received $600,000 to $700,000 over the course of five years (2019-2024) from the illegal operation that generated over $21 million in profits. Less than an hour after Lopez's arrest, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez as Sheriff, and installed FHP region chief Christopher Blackmon as the interim sheriff.
Investigators say Lopez used the money to fund his 2020 political race and for other payments. State prosecutors asked a judge for, and received, a motion that he must prove that money used to post his bail does not come from "ill-gotten" sources.
"The Defendant has secured funds to post the bond and has demonstrated through documentation that the funds and collateral being used are from legal sources and are not from illegal activity," the court filing from Thursday morning notes. "The State and Defense stipulate that the Defendant may be released from custody upon posting of the Bond."
On Monday, Robin Severance-Lopez, Marcos' estranged wife, was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to use proceeds from racketeering. She's held in the same Lake County Jail on a $400,000 that has not yet been posted. The court has filed much the same "ill-gotten funds" motion against her, as well as a no-contact order with Marcos Lopez, court records show.
