LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A Dawson County Sheriff’s deputy has been honored for his work in helping capture a man suspected of being the so-called “AK-47 Bandit.”

In a ceremony Monday, Deputy Chad Byrne was presented with a plaque in recognition of his “outstanding service and attention to detail on June 20, 2017.”

That was the day Byrne was on patrol when heard the bulletin that a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper had been shot by a man in a stolen pickup. Byrne stationed himself south of Lexington on Highway 238 in case the fleeing truck drove that way. He later spotted the suspected truck, called for backup and helped arrest Richard Gathercole, suspected of robbing banks in Nebraska, California, Idaho, Iowa and Washington state. Gathercole got the nickname “AK-47 Bandit” because that’s the weapon police believed he carried in the robberies.

He’s in a Colorado federal prison awaiting trial.