LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — The attorneys for suspended Sheriff Marcos Lopez are asking the judge to move his case to Osceola County.
Right now, the Office of Statewide Prosecution has the case in Lake County.
In the documents filed in court, his defense attorneys don’t give reasons why they’re requesting the change of venue.
However, sources close to the case tell 9 Investigates that the defense is taking this shot because they know that at one point, at least 50 percent of the county liked him.
In the last election in November, Lopez won over 57 percent of the vote in Osceola County against Republican Donnie Martinez.
“It’s obvious to me that the defense has done some research into where their best opportunity to gain an acquittal might be,” said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
Sheaffer says at the end of the day, defense teams are simply looking at their potential jury pool who ultimately will be deciding this case.
“He has a fan base there. He was voted into office, and that his best chance for acquittal might be among his people or what he perceives to be his people,” Sheaffer said.
“He’s well known. And that the jurors in Osceola County are going to look at him more favorably and decide the evidence more favorably than jurors in Lake County, where he’s currently being tried,” said Jessica Travis, partner at Fighter Law.
Travis says since Lopez’s alleged crimes occurred in Lake and Osceola counties, his defense team can request to “elect” or pick the county they wish for him to be tried in.
Still, the request to move the case back to Osceola has shocked many, even legal experts.
“This is the first time in 40 years I’ve seen a defendant actually move the case back into the jurisdiction where it’s received such notoriety as it has in Osceola County,” Sheaffer said.
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