Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

EVERETT — A former sheriff’s deputy who routinely stole from a Home Depot near Everett during his shift was sentenced Wednesday to a week either in jail or under house arrest.

Jeremie Zeller, 47, pleaded guilty last month to three counts of third-degree theft, a gross misdemeanor.

Zeller served in the U.S. Marines for 22 years before he started at the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in 2017, according to court documents. In 2022, the defendant worked overtime as a security guard at the hardware store in the 11000 block of Highway 99.

After he was placed on administrative leave on the theft allegations, he resigned from the sheriff’s office in October 2022.

On Wednesday, deputy prosecutor Elise Deschenes recommended 14 days of jail time. She acknowledged this crime wouldn’t normally result in jail, but Zeller was “differently situated.”

“He was put in a place of trust, specifically hired to be in full uniform and to provide the exact security against what he did at Home Depot,” Deschenes said. “He abused his position, he abused his uniform, and he did it repeatedly.”

Defense attorney Karim Merchant asked for no jail time for his client, instead recommending 30 days of community service. Merchant said the harm to Zeller’s career and reputation only added to a series of traumatic events in his life, including the death of his young child in 2014.

“While he deserves what he got, it was incredibly difficult for Mr. Zeller and his family to move on from that,” Merchant said. “I think a lot of people might not make it out alive.”

Zeller has no prior criminal history. Under state sentencing guidelines, Zeller would usually face a year in jail, with all but 357 days suspended. Now living in Wisconsin, he will be required to serve his sentence in Snohomish County — and if he can find arrangements for local housing in the next two months, he can serve the time under house arrest. If not, he must spend the time in jail.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Edirin Okoloko handed down the ruling Wednesday. Zeller’s former colleagues and loved ones scattered the courtroom.

Between August and September 2022, security footage caught Zeller taking merchandise off the shelves and placing items in an orange Home Depot bucket on eight different occasions, the charging papers say. He would put the bucket behind the customer service desk. After his shift, he would take the bucket to his patrol car without paying for it.

Items included Crocodile Cloth hand wipes, tool wipes and disposable gloves, according to court papers.

The shoplifting was a form of protest, Merchant wrote in court documents, against Home Depot’s wages for security guards and the “diminished” perception of police officers following the protests after George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

“It is hard and difficult for this court to find reason in any way that justifies how committing these acts of theft would have in any way improved the community’s perception of law enforcement,” Okoloko said. “Rather what he has done is further diminished the perception.”

Under state law, the criteria for felony organized retail theft is $750. Prosecutors amended the original charge of second-degree theft, due to a “reasonable doubt” proving the value in stolen merchandise. The stolen merchandise seen on camera had an estimated value of $856 to $1,012, according to court documents.

On Wednesday, Zeller apologized to the residents of Snohomish County for not honoring the sheriff’s badge.

“It hurts me deeply that I embarrassed the sheriff’s department, I really miss working as an officer,” Zeller said. “I hope they will forgive me for letting them down.”

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.