Valley influencer arrested for ‘business takeovers’ recorded using AI glasses

TEMPE, Ariz. — A Tempe social media influencer has gotten millions of views on his videos for pranks that businesses said took it too far.

24-year-old Heston Cobb, otherwise known as Heston James, was arrested earlier this month by Tempe Police and is facing charges of disorderly conduct, burglary, and criminal impersonation for videos showing groups of men entering businesses dressed as employees.

One of his recent videos reportedly shows Cobb claiming to be with the corporate office of Big Brand Tire in Tempe. The video then shows a bus load of more than a dozen men pull up to the auto body shop, get out, and then run through the work area. 

An employee who was working during the stunt told 12News Cobb’s followers were opening up customers’ doors, going underneath cars, and using equipment to attempt to remove tires from vehicles. His biggest concern was the safety of workers and customers.

“People are running at you with tools, and you don’t know what people could do nowadays,” he said.

During the so-called prank, the worker said one of the men was wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Meta AI sunglasses to record the incident. Jessica Ells with Tempe Police said Cobb used these high-tech glasses frequently for his videos. A pair of them was seized when officers served a search warrant at Cobb’s home shortly after his arrest. 

“That’s a much more surreptitious way of doing it, rather than having a cell phone out,” Ells said.

The glasses can record up to three minutes of video using a camera that’s right next to the lens. A simple press of a button on the hinge starts the recording, and a blinking white light appears next to the camera to notify when a recording is in progress. 

Ells also said that for those who don’t know what it is, people may not be able to recognize if the glasses are recording video.

“That is definitely a concern, that as technology becomes more advanced, and these things become more available, because they become cheaper, that maybe more people are going to start buying these glasses or recording devices and maybe start using them for nefarious purposes,” Ells said.

Arizona state law states that video recordings cannot happen in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, like inside a person’s home, a bathroom, or a locker room. 

Israel Balderas, a licensed attorney and professor at Elon University in North Carolina, specializes in First Amendment law. He said if people are out in public, like walking on the sidewalk or at a public park, then they can be recorded because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. 

While restaurants and malls are different, that still doesn’t mean anyone can go inside and start recording video.

“That individual doesn’t have the right to record inside of Chipotle unless Chipotle gives that individual permission to do so,” Balderas said. “That is a private company.” 

Since those businesses are considered private property, no recordings can happen on the premises unless allowed by that business. Especially when it comes to video being taken for content that breaks the law.

“These pranksters, they’ve been going into private property. Now, do I have an expectation of privacy in the restaurant? No, but does the restaurant have the right to say you can’t record? Absolutely,” Balderas said.

12News attempted to speak with Cobb at his Tempe home. However, someone else answered the door and declined to answer questions.

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