OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV was just feet away when the wife of suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was put in handcuffs Thursday afternoon.
Our cameras were the only ones there when Robin Severance-Lopez was placed in the back of the patrol car and taken to the county jail on allegations of misinformation on her bail bond over the charges in her husband’s alleged gambling enterprise.
WFTV was the first to break her re-arrest, as well as her and Marcos Lopez’s initial arrests and jail releases.
Two deputies confirmed to WFTV what happened when they knocked on her door. They said she shut the door in deputies’ faces and locked it.
Deputies said they then asked if she wanted them to knock the door down, after which she opened it.
This account corroborates with what WFTV caught on camera. We saw Osceola County sheriff’s vehicles and undercover agents walk up and knock on the door. Five minutes later, she walked out of her home in handcuffs.
At this point it’s not clear if she will stay in the Osceola County jail or be moved to Lake County, where the gambling case is filed at.
Severance-Lopez was on bail and awaiting trial for her alleged role in her estranged husband’s racketeering probe. Her charge for that is conspiracy to commit racketeering.
She had been on bail since July. The court had allowed her GPS monitor to be removed while on bail.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
- Affidavit reveals details in racketeering case against Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez
- Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez leaves jail after posting bail
- TIMELINE: Osceola County sheriff arrested in ‘massive illegal gambling operation’
- Court documents list other gambling houses connected to investigation involving Marcos Lopez
- Osceola County Sheriff’s Office inquiry found that Marcos Lopez was ‘not untruthful’
- Former campaign manager of Marcos Lopez claims co-defendant forged his signature
Prosecutors say Severance-Lopez profited from an illegal gambling enterprise allegedly run by Marcos Lopez and his four co-defendants. Prosecutors say they ran the $21 million gambling enterprise for years out of Lake and Osceola counties.
Lopez is accused of running the enterprise before he was elected sheriff, allegedly using profits in his campaign.
He and three-co-defendants were arrested in June. His wife was arrested weeks later.
WFTV was the only station there when he was placed in handcuffs.
He later bailed out on $1 million. Part of his bail conditions is an ankle monitor.
Lopez’s own trial is on hold as his legal team examines the evidence.
He is also trying to get a change of venue from Lake County to Osceola County. That hearing was scheduled for this week but was postponed.
Two of those co-defendants, Carol Cote and Sharon Fedrick, have pleaded guilty. Fedrick faces up to five years in prison. Cote faces up to a year in jail and plans to testify against Lopez.
Another co-defendant, Sheldon Wetherholt, pleaded no contest and also faces up to a year in jail.
The final co-defendant is Ying Zhang. She has not been arrested and is believed to have left the country.
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