LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A trial date is now set after the arrest of suspended Osceola County sheriff Marcos Lopez.
Court records show that Lopez’s trial is expected to start on Oct. 20.
Investigators have said Lopez and his co-defendants operated an illegal gambling enterprise for years.
They are all charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Marcos Lopez has pleaded not guilty to his charges.
It all started with a tip in 2019, before Lopez became sheriff.
In 2020, Lopez won the race for Osceola County sheriff.
Investigators started looking into Krishna Deokaran for ties to illegal gambling. He agreed to be an informant.
In 2022, he opened the Eclipse Social Club.
The investigation heated up in 2023 with investigators conducting several undercover stings at multiple clubs with gambling machines.
In 2024, a judge signed five warrants to place tracking devices on Deokaran’s vehicles. They tracked him making several trips to and from multiple clubs.
That same year, he exchanged money with undercover agents.
Lopez was arrested in June 2025, along with others connected to the case.
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