From WiscoDave, this sad tale.

MARIANNA — Prosecutors are dropping charges in at least two dozen cases initiated by a former Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy who’s under investigation for allegedly planting drugs on people during traffic stops.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed Wednesday it opened an investigation Aug. 1 into Deputy Zachary Wester at the request of the Sheriff’s Office, located in Marianna. The investigation into allegations of official misconduct is still open, and no charges have been filed against Wester.

The Sheriff’s Office fired him Sept. 10 for violating agency policy, according to FDLE records.

State Attorney Glenn Hess of the 14th Judicial Circuit said FDLE briefed him and senior prosecutors about the Wester investigation several weeks ago. He formed his own opinion about Wester after seeing a body camera video of his arrest of a Cottondale woman earlier this year on charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

“The investigation is not complete,” Hess said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. “However, I saw a video and I saw still photographs captured from that video that caused me to lose confidence in the cases that the deputy has made.”

Wester, 26, of Marianna, could not be reached for comment. Neither could his attorney, Steve Meadows of Panama City. Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts declined to comment and referred questions to FDLE.

Wester was hired in May 2016 and worked as a patrol deputy. He worked as a Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputy from August 2015 until he joined JCSO.

After learning of the investigation, Hess said he notified the defense bar in Jackson County. He said he did so to comport with pretrial discovery rules that require prosecutors to disclose information that may exonerate a defendant.

“It is an unfortunate situation,” Hess said. “However, as the state attorney, I have a responsibility to make it right.”

Hess sent letters to lawyers with clients in 15 cases involving Wester, he said. The Democrat obtained a copy of one of the letters, which was sent Sept. 6.

“Please be advised that our office has information that an investigation into the professional conduct of Deputy Zachary Wester is underway,” Hess wrote. “No conclusions have been reached, nonetheless, you should be aware of its existence.”

On Tuesday, prosecutors asked Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson in open court to vacate the sentence of Teresa Odom, the woman whose drug possession arrest was caught on body camera video. Patterson agreed.

According to court records, Odom was on pretrial release from an earlier stolen property charge when Wester arrested her on Feb. 15. The new arrest prompted a judge to revoke her bail, which kept her behind bars until resolution of the drug case. She pleaded no contest to the drug charges March 6 and was sentenced to four years of probation.

Hess said that after notifying defense attorneys of a potential problem with Wester, his office began reviewing dozens of cases involving the deputy that were opened since Jan. 1. He said he’s waiting for a final investigative report from FDLE.

“We felt like we had to do something pending receipt of that report,” he said. “When we get that report, we will read the report, and we’ll see if there are other things we need to do.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how many other defendants may be in jail or prison as a result of alleged misconduct by Wester.

“Basically, we’re dealing with possession of controlled substances,” Hess said. “So I would expect that the people affected would at worst be on probation. Nevertheless, we are looking at all of the cases and their outcomes.”

Prosecutors also dropped charges last week against Monica Willis, who was arrested by Wester on March 28 after a traffic stop. Wester’s arrest report says he found two silver colored spoons in her purse along with a baggie that field-tested positive for meth. She said she was two weeks pregnant at the time of the arrest, Wester noted.

She also was on probation for earlier charges in both Jackson and Calhoun counties, said her lawyer, Robin Myers of Bristol. He was able to arrange her release from jail Wednesday morning.

“The M.O. seems to be that there’s a traffic stop in which either a request to search the car is made or the deputy determines probable cause to search the car,” Myers said. “And then upon searching the car, narcotics are located. At which point the deputy gives the defendant the choice to either work as a confidential informant or go to jail.”

Myers contends the traffic stop itself was illegal. He said he isn’t sure whether Wester planted evidence in Willis’ case. But, he said, “That’s what appears to be happening in multiple cases.”

A former prosecutor himself, Myers said he believes law enforcement officers play by the rules, by and large.

“The foundation for our system is the integrity of our law enforcement officers,” he said. “So I sure hope he’s just a (single) bad apple. And I believe that. The sad part is you wonder how many people were arrested by him and just took a plea to get out of jail when they had done nothing wrong.”

The foundations of social order have to do with the authority of the Scriptures, the adherence to Biblical law, and the moral constitution of men.  LEOs have nothing to do with it.

How many wrongful convictions and imprisonment can be accounted to this sort of abomination?  You know he isn’t the only one.  And how long with dull, stolid, slow-witted juries believe what LEOs tell them?

From a confused mother.

Until the day my 3-year-old got a reward for pooping on the potty. We happened to be in Ye Old Country Store, and I realized we could convince our son to get a potty reward here, instead of having to drive to Target. He pointed to a cowboy cap gun. I knew that he’d been eyeing a $30 dino at Target; I had nothing in my mind but price as I let him carry the gun to the cash register. He loved it. He opened it in the car. And just like that, we had a bonafide toy gun in the house.

I still feel ambivalent about it. I don’t love all the gun play and the pewing. But mostly, they don’t shoot each other; they truly do shoot imaginary bad guys. We had a talk about what to do if you find a real gun. I’m still rabidly in favor of gun control. But I realized that sometimes, our parenting doesn’t match our politics. We can’t always be perfect. And once in a while, that means your kids are shooting at each other.

Because boys and girls are different.  Now, take the next steps dear and think about purchase of a .22LR long gun, locked up from him of course, and join a range.

Teach him all the rules of gun safety, and that it is his God-given duty to protect those around him.

ABC13:

WAYNE COUNTY, North Carolina (KTRK) — A woman in North Carolina was arrested after trying to save pets during Hurricane Florence.

With severe flooding on the way, Tammie Hedges said she took in more than two dozen pets when their owners evacuated.

She runs an animal rescue called “Crazy’s Claws ‘n Paws,” but had not yet finished building her shelter.

She said she took the animals in anyways so they’d have a dry place to stay.

“Their owners were just going to leave them in a flood zone on chains. We don’t want that,” she said.

Animal services has since taken the pets and are now trying to find their owners.

Tammie has also been charged with practicing medicine without a veterinary license.

Better to have let them perish than risk the officers’ lives effecting the arrest.  If I was them, I would have sent in the SWAT team, shot all the dogs, and beaten the hell out of her for good measure.

I’m just glad the cops all went home safely at the end of their shift.  That’s what really matters here.

CBS19:

SMITH COUNTY — The East Texas State Fair will not allow open carry guns this year, according to fair president John Sykes.

“We really want everyone to understand that safety and security at this event is for most on our mind and has been for many many years,” Sykes said. “We as an entity do have the right to prevent open carry.”

While Sykes says they do reserve the right to prevent concealed carry, fairgoers may carry guns concealed as long as they have a CCW.

“I’ve learned that maybe we are violating the rights of others too much when you already have a license to carry concealed,” Sykes said. “So we have decided to go ahead and allow that to happen.”

Sykes says security will be checking licenses and will also be looking to see if a weapon becomes exposed. If someone violates the open carry policy, they will be escorted from the property.

Sykes says security and police are expected to be the first line of defense if an incident should happen. However, the fair ‘trusts’ those with concealed carry licenses should anything happen.

Those concealed carriers are so much more trustworthy than the open carriers.  Hey, it’s too bad for the criminals that they won’t be able to open carry now as they plan their mass shooting.  I guess they’ll just leave their guns at home or not go.  Surely they won’t violate regulations and conceal their firearms.

Chicago Sun-Times:

A man with a concealed carry gun license stepped from his car on Thursday and shot the suspected shooter of a Cicero police officer.

Good for him.

Had the good Samaritan not joined the gun battle, the Cicero cop might not be alive today, and the accused shooter might have gotten away.

We remain unconvinced, all the same, that concealed carry is good for Chicago or Illinois. There is no convincing evidence — just the occasional anecdote — that permitting people to walk around with concealed guns deters crime. There is credible evidence, on the contrary, that concealed carry leads in the long run to more crime.

Hang your argument on a single anecdote, and you can defend almost anything.

Yea, I’m sure this was the only instance in the history of the world in which anyone was ever saved by someone else carrying a gun.  And I’m sure no one ever saved his or her own life by doing that.  In fact, I don’t even know why cops carry guns.

Good Lord.  Do they hire second graders to write these editorials?

Does it matter, and can you tell them apart?

The people who have been complaining consistently are the NRA’s “leaders.” They’ve made “enforce existing gun laws” a mantra many gun owners repeat unthinkingly, as if ceding to the status quo of infringements will dissuade the totalitarian lobby from enacting any new citizen disarmament edicts.

As I’ve said before, the NRA is the largest, most powerful, best financed gun control organization on earth.

He scampers away.

A video captured the breathtaking moment a raccoon made a daring jump after scaling the side of a building in New Jersey on Friday before it miraculously scampered away.

Micah Rea of Greenville, S.C., captured the viral footage while on vacation with friends in Ocean City, FOX 6 Now reported. The raccoon was seen climbing up about 10 stories before making the daring leap off, landing on the sand and scurrying off.

So why would anyone from Greenville, S.C., voluntarily choose to go to New Jersey?

Via Insty:

A police search warrant team going after a drug dealer targeted the wrong address and burst into the apartment of an innocent resident who shot and wounded two officers believing they were home invaders, Prince George’s law enforcement officials said.

Police Chief Hank Stawinski apologized for the error Thursday and said he has halted executing search warrants until the department reviews how it corroborates information to confirm addresses and the location of investigative targets.

As soon as officers entered the apartment, the man inside immediately surrendered when he realized police were on the other side of the door, Stawinski said.

The man yelled, “‘You’ve got the wrong address! Don’t shoot my daughter!’ ” according to Stawinski.

No criminal charges will be filed against the resident, who fired at police with a shotgun, said Stawinski, adding that police “did not draw the right conclusion” about their target.

Here is the report.  Glenn Reynolds adds, “This is how it should be handled.”

No, it’s not.  Here’s a note to LEOs.  I don’t believe in your war on drugs.  In fact, I don’t believe in law enforcement in America conducting a war on anything at all, except invasion from foreign countries, a job which isn’t going so well.

The process isn’t over.  Now it’s time for the LEOs involved to be fired and charged with destruction of private property, trespassing, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Then perhaps these idiotic home invasions by LEOs will begin to subside.  Otherwise, it will turn into a war on something else, like LEOs.  Get my drift?

News from Texas.

The 12-foot alligator’s first mistake: crossing a Texas grandma with a Winchester .22 Magnum.

From the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday came a tale as Texan as they come. Judy B. Cochran – mayor of Livingston in East Texas; a great-grandmother called Nana by her family – had long held a suspicion that a massive alligator had killed her miniature horse three years ago. As she told the Chronicle:

“We think this is the gator that ate one of our miniature horses several years ago, as big as this gator was, he could’ve easily eaten it. Typically the gators don’t bother us, but we’ve been looking for (this one).”

The horse might have been smaller than the average horse, but this 580-pound reptile came a little larger than standard issue. According to the Chronicle, Cochran got the gator right where she wanted it after handlers caught it in a pond using a seasoned raccoon …

Fox 4 reports that Cochran was in a meeting when she was notified that the gator had been got. She took him out on her Goodrich ranch with just one shot, the Chronicle reports. Nine years ago, according to the Chronicle, Cochran’s then-5-year-old grandson killed an 800-pound alligator from the same pond.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Polk County (where Goodrich and Livingston sit) is “one of only 12 in Texas with an alligator hunting season,” giving Cochran a 20-day timeframe (and specific requirements about hunting permits and methods) to settle her score.

Just because the gator is off the hook literally doesn’t mean it’s off the hook metaphorically. The Chronicle reports that Cochran plans to eat the animal’s meat, have its head mounted and display part of its tail in her office.

Nana definitely plans to wear some alligator-skin boots once all is said and done.

Lessons: Texas.  ‘Nuff said.  Alligators.  At least Texas doesn’t have the love for the beasts that Florida apparently does, not in 12 counties.  What’s the problems with those other ones?

.22 Magnum.  Good for a lot of things.  But she must have hit it exactly where it counts.  Finally, raccoon.  Never eaten one, don’t want to, but apparently the gator was interested.  I’m wondering about WiscoDave?

News from Wisconsin:

Yes, a lot less people were killed or injured because the cops got there.  Not because poor victims are asking the question, “Do you hide or do you run?”  Rather than saying, “Remember, unholster, proper grip technique, ensure round is chambered, find perp, present, get good sight picture, discharge.”

Well, she did what all of America has been trained to do.