LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A co-defendant in the racketeering case involving suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was arrested late Tuesday and is now bonded out of the Lake County jail.
Sheldon Wetherholt, 58, was arrested on one count of racketeering and one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, the same charges against Lopez, who remains jailed on $1 million bond as of Wednesday.
As Wetherholt walked out of jail, he told reporters that he didn’t know who Marcos Lopez was.
“I never met the man, I don’t know who that is,” Wetherholt said.
Along with Lopez and Wetherholt, three other co-defendants were named in the case: Carol Cote, Sharon Fedrick and Ying Zhang. Cote and Fedrick have also been arrested; Zhang has not.
[VIDEO BELOW: Lopez remains jailed on $1M bond]
Wetherholt, who turned himself in to authorities, appeared before a judge Wednesday morning and was granted a public defender.
Wetherholt has no criminal history. He told the judge he lives with family members in Citrus County and was fired from his $19,000-per-year job on Friday.
He also told the judge that he cares for his two adult sons, who are bipolar and paranoid schizophrenic.
At the hearing, prosecutors said Wetherholt established the LLCs for the illegal operation and engaged in business with one of the other co-conspirators.
[BELOW: Lopez co-defendant discusses charges against him]
As part of his bond, Wetherholt has to be fitted with a GPS monitor and must surrender any firearms in his possession.
His next court date was set for July 7.
Lopez is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal cash payments as part of what prosecutors are calling an organized criminal enterprise.
Court records show Lopez‘s attorney filed a motion Tuesday morning to ask a judge to reduce Lopez bond amount and remove a GPS-tracking requirement. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, but it was canceled later in the day Tuesday.
According to a 255-page affidavit filed by FDLE, Lopez received more than $700,000 in cash payments since 2020. The document, not yet available through the clerk of court due to the case’s sealed status, includes alleged WhatsApp messages, screenshots, and texts that prosecutors say show Lopez coordinating with co-defendants and leveraging his power, even before taking office, to support illegal operations.
[VIDEO BELOW: Sheldon Wetherholt booked into jail]
Prosecutors described the allegations as “an extreme breach of public trust,” accusing Lopez of misusing his elected office to obstruct criminal investigations and facilitate ongoing illegal activity.
The state has also filed a motion to investigate the source of any funds Lopez may use to post bond. The court granted that request, requiring Lopez to prove none of the money comes from criminal activity.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez and named Chris Blackmon, who spent years with the Florida Highway Patrol, as his replacement.
Blackmon joined News 6 on Tuesday for a one-one-one interview (WATCH BELOW) and said Lopez was not targeted.
“I’ve read the report and not because I took over in his position. I’m disgusted by what I read. This report is extremely lengthy,” he said. “I can’t go into it because it’s still under investigation. But when that becomes a public record and it’s viewable for everybody, I challenge you to sit down and read it.”
Blackmon said audits are underway at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and called it a “reset” moment for the agency.