JCSO Deputy Fired; 263 Cases Under Review for Planted Evidence

According to the Jackson County Floridian (September 20, 2018), suspected misconduct by former Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Zachary Wester, fired from his job on Sept. 10, has led State Attorney Glenn Hess to file for the vacating of pleas and subsequent sentencing in six criminal cases, and dismissal of at least 41 pending cases in which Wester was a primary witness.  Other dismissals could follow — there are 263 cases in which Wester was involved this year, at varying levels, and all of those are being reviewed. At least one of those in which he was involved has already been through court, with the defendant’s plea and sentence set aside by a judge this Wednesday.

FDLE is conducting an internal investigation into Wester’s activities on behalf of Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts. That probe was triggered after allegations against Wester came to light. Hess said people in his office as well as defense attorneys had come to him with concerns.

Hess said Thursday that he’d seen a single video — but there are others to review — that led him to believe, in at least one case, Wester planted a packet of methamphetamine in the vehicle of a woman he’d pulled over. The woman denied that the methamphetamine was hers. Hess has filled to have that case dropped based on his review of the video’s content.
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This type of misconduct on the part of police officers is rare, but it doesn't mean that it can never happen - as we see in this case. Even if a police officer doesn't plant evidence, a department can structure an investigation to make it point to whomever it wishes.

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