29-year-old Aleksandr Grigoryan was cashing in chips, when he's alleged to have told a casino cashier he's from Africa and 'brought Ebola with him'.
The woman admonished him that he probably shouldn't joke about it, when he said, essentially, 'I'm not joking'.
That scared her and he took off, but police were able to track him to his home in Newark where a full complement of first responders descended on his home, tested him, and found he had no symptoms.
Grigoryan is now charged in Franklin County with making a false alarm, a misdemeanor. Police say with Ebola top-of-mind lately, the cost and risk of taking first responders away from real emergencies won't be tolerated.
"If you're going to make joke where you make people concerned about Ebola, make them scared for their lives, it likely could happen that they would get charged,” said Columbus Police Spokesman Denise Alex-Bouzounis
Grigoryan is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court Monday.