Cypress Man Seeks To Clear Name After Deputies Mistake Kitty Litter for Meth

CYPRESS, TX --A man who was facing charges for possession of a controlled substance is working to clear his name, after Harris County Sheriff’s Deputies claimed a substance found in his car was methamphetamine, turned out to be kitty litter.

"They thought they had the biggest bust in Harris County. This was the bust of the year for them,” Ross Lebeau told KTRK.

According to a press release issued by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 8, Ross Lebeau, 24, was arrested and charged with carrying nearly a half pound of methamphetamine in his car.

Deputies initially stopped LeBeau, who was driving a 2006 Acura on Highway 6 north in the Copperfield area, on Dec. 5 because he’d made a right hand turn but failed to signal.

When the deputy walked up along side Lebeau’s car to speak with him, he could smell marijuana and asked Lebeau if he had marijuana in his car.

Lebeau told the deputy that he had marijuana in the center console of his car, and was handcuffed and detained while deputies began an inventory of his car.

During the inventory, deputies found a sock inside the car that contained a substance they believed was methamphetamine.

The deputies allegedly field tested the substance twice, which tested positive both times for methamphetamine.

Lebeau, who denied any knowledge of meth in his vehicle, was arrested and taken to the Harris County Jail for booking and processing, and was later released on a $50,000 bond.

Shortly after his release, Lebeau joked on social media that the substance was cat litter.

Lebeau told KTRK that his father gave him and his sister a sock full of cat litter as a way of keeping the windows from fogging up.

The case against him was dismissed last week, but Lebeau who claims his reputation has been besmirched by the faulty field test and subsequent charge, has vowed to clear his name.

"I was wrongly accused and I'm going to do everything in my power, with my family's backing, to clear my name," he said.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement indicating Lebeau’s inability to identify the substance on several occasions was part of what facilitated his arrest, as well as the positive field test.

The sheriff’s office further stated that the deputies followed the policies of the department during the traffic stop and subsequent arrest.

“...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,” The statement read.

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