The Zachary Wester settlement resolved federal civil rights lawsuits brought by 33 people the former Jackson County, Florida, deputy falsely arrested by planting drugs in their vehicles. Reached on October 11, 2022, the deal totaled just under $1 million, with individual payments ranging from under $20,000 to more than $70,000. The Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund paid. Wester himself is serving a 12-year prison sentence, though one of his convictions has since been vacated on appeal and the state’s challenge is pending before the Florida Supreme Court.
How Much Each Victim Received
The 33 plaintiffs reached the settlement after a nearly 10-hour conference at the federal courthouse in Pensacola, presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judges Hope Cannon and Michael Frank. Wester participated by phone. The total was described as “just shy of seven figures,” and individual awards were calibrated to the harm each person suffered. The largest payments went to plaintiffs who had lost custody of their children because of the false arrests.1Tallahassee Democrat. Ex-Deputy Zach Wester Victims Share Nearly $1M Settlement
Tallahassee attorney Marie Mattox represented 27 of the 33 plaintiffs. She said she had not been optimistic going in and credited the magistrate judges with getting the case resolved: “Without their help and their skill, this case would not have resolved.” Formal settlement terms were not released in court documents. Mattox said she continues to represent additional plaintiffs whose lawsuits remain pending in state court.2Yahoo News. Victims of Drug-Planting Deputy Zach Wester
“What happened to the plaintiffs was tragic and should never have happened to anyone,” Mattox said. “You’re supposed to be able to trust law enforcement.” Some of her clients had lost jobs, spouses, homes, and children because of the fraudulent arrests.2Yahoo News. Victims of Drug-Planting Deputy Zach Wester
The Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund, which insures sheriff’s offices across the state, paid the settlement rather than Jackson County or Wester personally.1Tallahassee Democrat. Ex-Deputy Zach Wester Victims Share Nearly $1M Settlement
Who the Plaintiffs Were
The federal litigation began in May 2019, when Derek Benefield and eight others sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Panama City Division. More suits followed, and by 2022 more than three dozen people had filed federal claims against the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Wester, alleging illegal search and seizure, illegal detention, and illegal prosecution.3The Appeal. Floridians Are Suing a Cop Fired for Planting Drugs in Their Vehicles4Tallahassee Democrat. Deputy Zachary Wester Victims Drug Planting Guilty Verdict Florida The cases were assigned to Judge M. Casey Rodgers and Magistrate Judge Michael J. Frank.5GovInfo. USCOURTS-flnd-5:19-cv-00505
Their stories followed a pattern. Wester joined the sheriff’s office in 2016 and patrolled alone. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said he “routinely pulled over citizens for alleged minor traffic infractions, planted drugs inside their vehicles and arrested them on fabricated drug charges.”6FDLE. FDLE Arrests Wester for Fabricating Evidence, False Imprisonment He manipulated body camera timing, turning the device off during searches or activating it only after he claimed to have already found drugs.7USA Today. Zachary Wester Drug Planting Trial: The 12 Victims and Their Stories When his patrol vehicle was impounded, a drug dog alerted to it and investigators recovered a bag containing a syringe, marijuana, methamphetamine residue, and prescription pills, which prosecutors argued was the supply he used to frame drivers.8First District Court of Appeal of Florida. Opinion, Case No. 1D2021-2114
The State Attorney’s Office reviewed 300 of Wester’s cases and dropped charges in nearly 120 of them. Some plaintiffs had spent weeks in jail. Others had accepted plea deals or court-ordered drug treatment for drugs they never possessed. Benjamin Bowling, stopped in October 2017, served three days in jail and lost custody of his daughter. Joshua Emanuel was driving to his manager’s job at American Eagle when Wester pulled him over in April 2018 and claimed to find a syringe and methamphetamine. James Christopher Fears lost his job after his June 2018 arrest and sold personal belongings to survive.7USA Today. Zachary Wester Drug Planting Trial: The 12 Victims and Their Stories4Tallahassee Democrat. Deputy Zachary Wester Victims Drug Planting Guilty Verdict Florida
Wester’s Criminal Conviction and Sentence
FDLE arrested Wester on July 10, 2019, in Crawfordville, Florida.6FDLE. FDLE Arrests Wester for Fabricating Evidence, False Imprisonment He faced 67 counts, including racketeering, official misconduct, perjury, fabricating evidence, false imprisonment, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
In May 2021, a six-person jury found him guilty on 19 counts and acquitted him on the remaining 48. The guilty verdicts centered on three victims: Teresa Odom, Joshua Emanuel, and Steven Vann.9Tallahassee Democrat. Zachary Wester Trial Jury Deliberates On July 13, 2021, he was sentenced to 12 years, six months, and eight days in the Florida Department of Corrections, with credit for time served.10WYMT. Former Fla. Deputy Gets 12 Years in Prison for Planting Drugs
The Racketeering Conviction Was Vacated
On November 13, 2024, a three-judge panel of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal voted 2-1 to vacate Wester’s racketeering conviction. Judge M. Kemmerly Thomas, writing for the majority, held that Florida’s RICO Act requires proof that at least two people worked together toward an illegal objective. Because the state acknowledged Wester acted alone, the enterprise element could not be met. Judge Joseph Lewis Jr. concurred, and Chief Judge Timothy D. Osterhaus dissented in part. The court upheld Wester’s other 18 convictions, including official misconduct, perjury, fabricating evidence, false imprisonment, and drug possession.11Tallahassee Democrat. Florida Appeals Court Vacates RICO Conviction for Ex-Deputy Zachary Wester12FindLaw. Wester v. State, 1D2021-2114
The appeals court certified a question of “great public importance” to the Florida Supreme Court: whether Florida’s RICO Act requires proof that at least two people used the enterprise with a shared illegal purpose. The state appealed, arguing that Wester’s employment gave him the institutional cover to carry out his scheme and that the sheriff’s office could itself be the enterprise, even unwittingly. Assistant Public Defender Barbara Busharis, representing Wester, argued the statute was not meant to convert every misuse of a government job into a racketeering case, pointing to a hypothetical the appeals court raised: a bookkeeper who stole bingo money could face up to 30 years under RICO instead of 60 days for petty theft.13The Florida Bar News. Does RICO Require a Criminal Team
The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 4, 2026.14Florida Supreme Court. March 2026 Oral Argument Summaries and Schedule As of mid-2026, the case (SC2024-1769) remains open with no decision issued.15Florida Appellate Case Information System. State of Florida v. Zachary Wester, SC2024-1769
Where Wester Is Now
Wester remains incarcerated. The Florida Department of Corrections houses him at a facility in Colorado for his safety as a former law enforcement officer. His original projected release date was 2033. If the racketeering conviction is permanently vacated, his sentence could be reduced by up to five years. The appeals court ordered resentencing after the November 2024 ruling, though no date had been announced as of the most recent reporting.16WUFT. Florida Appeals Court Throws Out Racketeering Conviction of Deputy Who Planted Drugs During Traffic Stops The Florida Supreme Court’s pending decision will determine whether prosecutors can retry the racketeering charge or whether Wester will be resentenced on the remaining 18 convictions alone.