A 19-year-old student at Missouri State University was arrested after allegedly detailing his involvement in a vandalism spree to OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
Ryan Joseph Schaefer, a sophomore at Missouri State University in Springfield, allegedly went on a destructive rampage in a campus freshman parking lot on August 25.
According to court documents filed in Greene County Circuit Court, Schaefer smashed the windows of 17 vehicles, causing extensive property damage.
The vandalism included breaking windshields, side windows, and rear windows, with some cars also having their tire valve caps stolen or gas caps removed.
Investigators from the Missouri State University Police Department responded to reports of vandalism around 3:00 a.m.
Surveillance footage captured a suspect wearing a dark hoodie, black shorts, and a black backpack, moving through the lot and using an object, later identified as a metal bat or similar tool, to shatter the glass. Cell phone tower data placed Schaefer’s phone in the vicinity during the time of the incident, providing initial leads.
What sealed the case, however, was Schaefer’s immediate post-incident interaction with ChatGPT.
Just minutes after the vandalism, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Schaefer initiated a conversation with the AI chatbot. In the chat logs, he confessed to “smashing car windows in a parking lot” and provided specific details about the number of vehicles targeted and his methods. He asked the AI for advice on evading detection, inquiring whether campus cameras could identify him based on his clothing or gait, and whether police would pursue such a case vigorously.
The typo-filled chat log included things like, “How f**ked am I” and “qilll I go to jail.”
ChatGPT, programmed to discourage illegal activities, reportedly advised against criminal behavior but did not directly alert authorities.
Police obtained the chat transcripts through a subpoena served on OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and Schaefer was arrested on October 1.
The alleged vandal was booked into the Greene County Jail and released on bond the following day.
If convicted of felony vandalism, he could face up to four years in prison and significant fines, in addition to potential university disciplinary actions such as suspension or expulsion.
OpenAI’s terms of service state that user conversations may be reviewed for safety purposes and can be disclosed in response to legal requests, such as subpoenas or court orders. Legal experts note that while ChatGPT offers a “temporary chat” mode where conversations are not saved to user history, the company may still retain logs for a limited time, making them accessible to authorities.
A federal court in the ongoing copyright lawsuit, The New York Times v. OpenAI, ordered the company to preserve all user chat logs, including those from opted-out users, to prevent the loss of potential evidence. This ruling, issued in June, demonstrates how courts are increasingly treating AI data as discoverable material, even in non-criminal contexts.
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