JACKSON COUNTY, FL-A former Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy was arrested on Wednesday, July 10, and charged with planting illegal drugs on unsuspecting drivers. 

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Zachary Wester, 26, was arrested at his Crawfordville home and is currently being held at the Wakulla County Jail without bail.

The strongest evidence in the case against the former deputy comes from his own body camera footage. Back in February of 2018, Wester pulled over Teresa Odom, citing that her brake lights didn’t work before asking if she would consent to a vehicle search.

In the footage, Wester appears to hold a white substance in his hand while putting on gloves in order to search her vehicle. The hand holding the substance disappears from the frame for a few seconds before reappearing, hand empty. 

After Wester “finds” the bag of powder, he places it on the driver seat, not alerting the other two deputies on scene. He then searched the passenger side of the vehicle, before walking back over to Odom and the other deputies, the bag of powder in hand.

The powder tested positive for methamphetamine, and Wester then placed Odom under arrest, despite her cries that the drugs didn’t belong to her.

Many of Wester’s cases have been placed under intense review, and three federal lawsuits have been filed against him.