LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – One co-defendant in the illegal gambling case involving former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez pleaded no contest to charges on Monday while another co-defendant pleaded guilty.
Sheldon Wetherholt pleaded no contest to charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Wetherholt was accused of setting up leases and utility services for the illegal gambling operation that led to Lopez’s removal from office earlier this year.
[VIDEO BELOW: Lopez arrested in gambling investigation]
Wetherholt was arrested in June, along with Lopez, his wife Robin Severance Lopez, and co-defendants Sharon Fedrick and Carol Cote.
Fedrick pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, shortly after Wetherholt entered his new plea.
On Oct. 6, Cote changed her plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
In the plea deal, Cote pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, in return for up to a year in Lake County Jail, probation, paying court and investigation costs, and agreeing to testify in court proceedings.
[VIDEO BELOW: Robin Lopez bonds out of jail]
However, a judge will decide on the final sentence.
Cote was one of the people who worked at the Eclipse Social Club in Osceola County, where investigators say Lopez and others operated an illegal gambling house.
A multi-agency investigation found crimes were allegedly committed between August 2019 and at least August 2024.