Overview
- Officers dispatched all available units to Rubin’s Deli in Elyria after a report of multiple masked suspects, but they found no robbery in progress.
- Todd Durst, 45, allegedly created an AI image using ChatGPT and sent it to co-worker Luis Acevedo Jr., who forwarded it to the owner, prompting the 911 call.
- Both employees have been arraigned in Elyria Municipal Court and posted bond, according to local police and court reporting.
- Durst was initially arrested at the scene; Acevedo left before officers arrived, then later turned himself in, authorities said.
- Police logged the image in their evidence system and warned that AI-driven hoaxes divert emergency resources and carry serious legal consequences, including felony swatting and obstructing charges plus misdemeanor inducing panic.