Zachary Wester, a former police deputy faced 67 charges, which included racketeering, official misconduct, perjury, fabricating evidence, possession of drug paraphernalia, among other charges, in relation to twelve different victims.
Wester was accused of pulling citizens over, planting drugs on them, and proceeding to arrest them. Most of the citizens he arrested had previously been charged with drug possession or other criminal charges, making their arrests more believable. All these arrests happened between July 2017 and June 2018.
In spring and summer of 2018, word began to spread that Wester´s cases were questionable, so in September of that year, investigators searched his patrol car, finding an evidence bag with ready-to-plant (as prosecutors described) meth and associated paraphernalia in the trunk. Wester claimed he seized the drugs, discovered in his car, after finding them in a box in a men´s restroom at a park in Alford. There is no record of him ever finding any property on that day or in the weeks prior.
Last month, Zachary Wester was found guilty on 19 counts and not guilty on the other 48 counts, involving 9 victims. The charges he was convicted for are racketeering, official misconduct, fabricating evidence, false imprisonment, possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia, and lastly, perjury. The former North Florida deputy will be sentenced on July 13th, 2021.
If you or someone you know is facing drug charges or criminal charges, make sure you have a criminal defense attorney on your side. Rusell Spatz has the experience needed to handle various types of criminal cases. Call Spatz today for a consultation at 305-442-0200.