TAVARES, Fla. — Suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez has posted $1 million bail and left the Lake County Jail.
A judge ruled that Lopez met the requirements to post bail.
The court previously ruled that the bail money must come from legal means and not from the alleged gambling operation.
A legal expert explained how Thursday’s decision meant the hold on Lopez was lifted, and the judge found the bail money is clean, meaning Lopez was free to post it, which he did shortly after the ruling.
Lopez, 56, is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Prosecutors say he was connected to a yearslong illegal gambling enterprise.
His bail comes exactly three weeks since his arrest on June 5.
Lopez is one of five people arrested in the case, which includes three people prosecutors say were involved in the business side or running of the operation. Sheldon Wetherholt, Carol Cote and Sharon Fedrick have all bailed out of jail shortly after their arrests.
Another co-defendant accused of aiding the operation has left the country and has not been arrested.
Marcos Lopez’s estranged wife, Robin Severance-Lopez, was also arrested on allegations that she used money from the gambling. She is still in jail.
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