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8:30 a.m. | Zachary Wester's father, Robert Wester, may testify  MARIANNA — State prosecutors could wrap their case today — well ahead of schedule — in the trial of former deputy Zachary Wester on charges that he planted drugs on unsuspecting motorists during traffic stops. On the fourth day of trial, the state is expected to call Wester’s father, Robert Wester,  who spent more than two decades at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. His son worked as a patrol deputy for the department from May 2016 until his termination amid drug-planting allegations in September 2018. The elde...

It was the fourth day of the trial of Wester, charged with a multitude of offenses for allegedly planting drugs and paraphernalia in the vehicles of innocent motorists. He was arrested in July 2019 after a lengthy FDLE investigation. Much of the testimony focused on Wester’s patrol vehicle and the unmarked contraband found in the trunk and elsewhere, including containers with methamphetamine and marijuana, a syringe and other items. Wester’s defense lawyer, Ryan Davis, has suggested through questioning that the vehicle, which was stored in a Sheriff’s Office helicopter bay, was not pro...

Eight of Wester’s alleged victims testified on Monday and Tuesday, and several more took the stand Wednesday, including a woman who said cigarettes and Dr Pepper were her only vices when she was arrested on a meth charge. Kimberly Hazelwood testified that she and her husband, Jeremy Hazelwood, and their young children had just moved to Marianna when Wester pulled over their white van in June 2018. Wester searched the van after another deputy’s K-9 unit signaled around the front passenger seat and found an Excedrin bottle with meth inside. Prosecutors played Wester’s body camera footage ...

View Comments Zachary Wester, the former deputy on trial for planting meth on drivers during traffic stops, grew up in a law enforcement family in the small town of Sneads, located just south of Lake Seminole in eastern Jackson County. Here’s what’s known about Wester: Where did Zachary Wester go to school? Wester, 28, attended Sneads High School, where he was active in Future Farmers of America and made the dean’s list. He graduated in 2010. What did he do after graduation? He worked at Verizon Wireless stores in Marianna and Tallahassee. He also sold cars at a Nissan dealership in Mar...