Jackson County (Florida) Deputy Zach Wester was arrested on racketeering and other charges for planting drugs on unsuspecting motorists before arresting as many as 200 innocent people. He's now facing 10-20 years in jail

FDLE began its investigation last August at the request of the Sheriff's Office after whispers of misconduct by Wester began to surface around the courthouse. He was suspended Aug. 1 and fired a month later. During the internal investigation, deputies searching his patrol car found 42 pieces of drug paraphernalia, ten baggies of methamphetamine and five baggies of marijuana concealed in an unmarked and unsecured evidence bag in the trunk.

Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who have been investigating Wester for more than nine months, arrested him in Crawfordville and took him to the Wakulla County Jail, where he is being held without bail.

He was arrested on 52 counts in all. Aside from the racketeering count, he was charged with a number of other felonies, including official misconduct, false imprisonment, fabricating evidence and possession of a controlled substance. He was also charged with misdemeanor charges of perjury, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, FDLE said.

The investigation found Wester routinely pulled over citizens for alleged minor traffic infractions, planted drugs inside their vehicles and arrested them on fabricated charges. It also found that Wester misused his body camera, sometimes turning it off before drugs were located or turning it on just after they were found.

"I'm glad he's off the road," she said. "I'm glad he's obviously facing charges. It doesn't change what the rest of the people went through because of him. It doesn't give them their time back. It doesn't give them their money back. It doesn't expunge their records — they still have at least arrest histories. But it's still something."

The allegations prompted prosecutors in Marianna to review nearly 300 cases involving Wester. They ultimately dropped charges in nearly 120 cases.


https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2019/07/10/former-jackson-county-deputy-zach-wester-arrested-drug-planting-probe/1691366001/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/11/former-jackson-county-florida-deputy-zach-wester-arrested-drug-planting-probe/1703201001/