(La Porte, IN) - A drug test proved to be a lie detector for a homeless man claiming a substance he allegedly had in a plastic bag was road salt.

 

Joseph France is charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 6 Felony Possession of Methamphetamine.

 

France, 47, was found sleeping in a car after La Porte Police were called on March 20 to an undisclosed location. According to police, a responding officer described him as “passed out” just before 12 p.m. in the passenger seat, waking up only after  an officer began tapping on the window.

 

A plastic baggie containing a white rock-like substance was recovered from the passenger side floorboard. France seemed baffled when asked if there were any more drugs in the vehicle, responding “What drugs? I thought it was road salt.”

 

The substance was later taken to the police department where it tested positive for methamphetamine.