Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy gets sick after taking drugs he mistook for candy: Sources

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- An internal review is underway after a Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy got sick Wednesday morning at a substation. Sources told ABC13 the deputy took drugs, which had been recovered at a crime scene, because he thought they were candy.

It happened at the Cypresswood substation in northwest Harris County. The drugs were colorful in nature and divided into clear plastic baggies and packed in a box. The deputy said he mistook it for candy.

"A deputy fell ill while at the station, was transported to the hospital and was released and (Wednesday) morning," according to a text from Dep. Thomas Gilliland. "We're not sure what exactly caused his illness, and we're reviewing the situation."

The drugs were recovered Tuesday at an apartment on Spring Cypress, sources said. Around lunchtime, the resident called the sheriff's office for help when he thought someone had broken in. But a safety sweep yielded no intruder. Instead, deputies found large bags of marijuana and boxes of edibles and mushrooms. One of those boxes, sources said, was left unattended at the substation.

"Evidence cannot be sat anywhere when it is not secure," retired Texas Rangers Chief Tony Leal said. "Once you remove evidence, then it's got to be in the custody of someone or in a place that cannot be tampered with, period."

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