Man arrested for meth let off because it was just kitty litter

A #lifehack fooled police into thinking that a man had a sock full of meth in his car.

Ross Lebeau, 24, from Texas was pulled over for a routine traffic stop after he allegedly failed to use a turn signal on Dec. 5. After getting pulled over, the police noticed the distinct smell of cannabis in the car, and Lebeau admitted to having a bit of sticky icky on him.

Deputies for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office then searched Lebeau's vehicle, where they discovered a sock filled with what they believed to be methamphetamine in the car's trunk. According to a press release boasting the score, "a field test was conducted, and these 'nuggets' tested positive for methamphetamine."

"This is another example how a routine traffic stop turned into a significant narcotics arrest in our community and may have kept our children and loved ones free from being introduced to drugs," the Sheriff's Office said in its press release.

The total weight of the "meth" was 252 grams, about a half pound, and Lebeau was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and was later released on a $50,0000 bond.

"At the time, I didn't know what was in there. But I knew it wasn't meth, or anything that could be drug related or harmful," Lebeau told local news outlet KPRC.

It turns out that the meth was actually just kitty litter.

Lebeau was unaware that the sock filled with kitty litter was in his vehicle. As it turns out, his father placed the sock in his car to help keep the windows from fogging up.

"This was supposed to be a simple life hack to keep the fog out of the inside of your windshield, and then it turns into what they call a meth bust," Lebeau said.

Charges against Lebeau have since been dropped, however he wants it expunged from his record and an apology.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office released the following statement to ABC 13:

The Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped Mr. LeBeau for a traffic offense on December 5, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. During that initial stop the deputies detected a strong odor of Marijuana emitting from his vehicle. Mr. LeBeau was question and admitted to having marijuana in the console of his vehicle.

The drugs were recovered and in the process of inventorying his vehicle a substance was found wrapped in one sock in his vehicle. Mr. LeBeau was questioned about the contents at which time he indicated that he had no idea what it was. The deputies followed proper procedures and field tested the substance on two separate occasions which field tested positive for methamphetamines, notified the District Attorney's Office who accepted charges for possession of controlled substance of 200 grams and Mr. LeBeau posted bond and was released.

During the investigation Mr. LeBeau failed to identify the substance and later, after being released indicated on social media that the substance was cat litter that he kept in a sock in his vehicle.

Regarding this incident all indication shows that the deputies followed basic procedures and followed established protocol related to this incident. Because of the established procedures in place and this contraband was submitted to the Institute of Forensic Science it was determined not to be methamphetamine and charges were dismissed.