Arrested Osceola County sheriff has history of credibility issues

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was arrested on racketeering charges Thursday morning. While the exact nature of the charge has not been released, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said it is related to a “massive illegal gambling operation.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately suspended Lopez and appointed Florida Highway Patrol region chief Christopher Blackmon to replace him.

This is not Lopez’s first encounter with legal issues since his election in 2020 and reelection in 2024.

In January, Lopez was added to the state’s Brady List. This is a list of law enforcement officers who are considered unreliable or who have questionable credibility.

This was due an internal investigation requested by the state attorney after a radio interview Lopez gave after he posted a photo on Instagram that appeared to show the body of 13-year-old murder victim Madeline Soto in March 2024.

He gave the interview and denied it was Madeline after the department apologized for the photo.

The investigation found that Lopez was “not truthful.”

Also in 2024, Lopez was accused of making a lewd comment about a nude picture of a civilian employee in 2022. He denied the accusation, calling it a rumor.

Lopez has also faced scrutiny for an instance in 2022 where a man was burned over 75% of his body after deputies tackled him while he was filling up his motorcycle. Lopez, four deputies and the sheriff’s office were sued in January over the incident.

Also, Lopez was sued and the Justice Department investigated after his deputies shot and killed one person and injured two others during a training exercise near Target on U.S. 192 in April 2022.

Deputies said it was prompted after the teenagers stole Pokémon cards and pizza. The lawsuit claimed the unmarked sheriff’s truck initiated the crash, and the deputies surrounded the car and started shooting.