Osceola County sheriff criticizes state attorney’s office over drug trafficking cases

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Thursday that the Orange-Osceola state attorney isn’t following mandatory minimum laws for drug trafficking cases.

It is the latest in a series of criticisms against State Attorney Monique Worrell.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Worrell’s office said they are looking through their cases after these allegations by the sheriff.

In two of the drug trafficking cases highlighted by the sheriff, the prosecutors said they found that there was no weight information, which is needed to charge for trafficking.

Read: Orange-Osceola state attorney invites law enforcement agencies to workshops to build better cases

But Lopez said he is standing by his cases saying dozens of people should be in jail.

The sheriff’s office laid out a powerpoint showing the drugs and guns taken from their cases in 2022, and alleged traffickers of fentanyl, like Linsie Beram, Lopez said should be behind bars but aren’t.

Read: State Attorney responds to backlash after dropping charges in deadly shooting

But Channel 9 was told that according to the prosecutor, Beram’s case had no weight in the testing report for Florida Department of Law Enforcement that would allow for a trafficking case.

The state said that this once again is about training for the deputies, but Lopez said it’s not a training issue.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.