A former Florida deputy has been arrested on a slew of charges for allegedly planting drugs on people he pulled over.
Zachary Wester, 26, a former deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, was charged with 52 counts of racketeering for allegedly using the sheriff's office to commit various crimes, Florida State Attorney Bill Evans said in a news conference Wednesday.
Investigators found 42 items of drug paraphernalia in Wester's car, including 10 separately packaged quantities of methamphetamine and five separately packaged quantities of marijuana, said Chris Williams, assistant special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Pensacola region.
There were several instances in which Wester's body camera was turned off before the drugs were"located," and other instances in which the body camera was"turned on only after the drugs were located," Evans said. An internal investigation was launched after concerns arose surrounding Wester's work. Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts asked state authorities to conduct an independent investigation after Wester was fired last September, Evans said.
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Former Florida deputy arrested for allegedly planting drugs during traffic stopsA former Florida deputy has been arrested on a slew of charges for allegedly planting drugs on people he pulled over. Zachary Wester, 26, a former deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, was charged with 52 counts of racketeering for allegedly using the sheriff's office to commit various
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