OMAHA MAN WHO USED CHATGPT WHILE PLANNING BANK ROBBERY SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 10 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

OMAHA, Neb. — An Omaha man who federal investigators said used ChatGPT while planning an armed bank robbery has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison after investigators connected him to the crime through surveillance footage, his vehicle, clothing, recovered cash, Google Maps history and evidence found on his phone.

Deron Lewis-Payne, 23, was sentenced on August 13, 2026, to 121 months in federal prison for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

U.S. District Judge Robert F. Rossiter Jr. imposed 37 months for the bank robbery and a consecutive 84 months for the firearm offense, resulting in a combined sentence of 10 years and one month.

Lewis-Payne will also serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case began on February 10, 2026, when Lewis-Payne entered the i3 Bank located at 15645 Spaulding Street in Omaha while carrying a black semi-automatic handgun.

According to federal prosecutors, Lewis-Payne pointed the firearm at two bank tellers and demanded money from their cash drawers.

He threatened to kill the employees if they did not comply and specifically warned them not to include dye packs with the money.

The tellers complied, and Lewis-Payne escaped with approximately $9,175 in cash.

The robbery quickly generated multiple forms of physical and digital evidence.

Bank surveillance cameras captured Lewis-Payne’s unmasked face, the handgun and the clothing he wore during the robbery.

Federal authorities said the outfit included distinctive red Nike slides, which later became one of several pieces of evidence connecting him to the crime.

Nearby residential surveillance systems also captured the vehicle used during the robbery.

Those recordings showed the vehicle’s license plates and distinctive characteristics, including a toolbox and identifiable rust markings, providing investigators with another way to trace Lewis-Payne after he left the bank.

The investigation then followed the money.

Surveillance video and transaction records from multiple retailers at Westroads Mall showed Lewis-Payne making cash purchases after the robbery, including shoes and clothing.

When officers later located him near one of his residences, Lewis-Payne ran from authorities and left behind banded cash as he fled.

Searches of his residences produced another currency band, the vehicle investigators said was used in the robbery and most of the clothing seen in the bank surveillance footage, including the red Nike slides.

Lewis-Payne admitted driving the vehicle but denied participating in the bank robbery.

He then consented to a search of his phone.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, investigators reviewing the device determined that Lewis-Payne had used ChatGPT during preparations for the robbery.

Federal authorities said his ChatGPT activity included requests involving law enforcement response times, information about stripping and repairing a Llama Mini-Max .45 handgun, and questions about obtaining ammunition while prohibited from possessing it as a felon.

Investigators also examined his Google Maps history and found that one of his most recent searches had been for directions to i3 Bank.

The phone evidence did not stand alone.

Investigators had already assembled a broader chain of evidence involving the bank’s surveillance footage, neighborhood cameras, the getaway vehicle, the distinctive clothing, mall purchases, recovered currency and Lewis-Payne’s movements after the robbery.

Taken together, the evidence gave investigators both a physical trail and a digital record surrounding the crime.

The firearm used during the robbery was never recovered.

Authorities recovered $2,397 of the approximately $9,175 stolen from the bank, leaving roughly $6,778 unrecovered based on the figures released by federal prosecutors.

The case also illustrates a developing evidentiary issue in criminal investigations as defendants leave detailed digital records across phones, mapping services, search platforms, messaging systems and artificial intelligence services.

In this prosecution, the Justice Department did not claim that ChatGPT committed or directed the robbery. The significance of the AI-related evidence was that investigators said Lewis-Payne’s own activity on the service contained queries relevant to the planning and execution of the offense.

That distinction matters.

Digital searches and AI conversations can become investigative evidence when they are recovered from a suspect’s device and evaluated alongside other evidence establishing identity, preparation, location, intent or knowledge.

Here, prosecutors said Lewis-Payne’s phone contained inquiries about police response, how to strip and repair a Llama Mini-Max .45 handgun, ammunition access for a felon and directions to the bank that was ultimately robbed.

The firearm conviction substantially increased Lewis-Payne’s prison term.

His 84-month sentence for brandishing the handgun was ordered to run consecutively to the 37-month bank robbery sentence, rather than at the same time.

That consecutive structure accounted for the majority of his 121-month federal sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

The case ultimately moved from a February armed robbery to a federal conviction supported by a combination of traditional surveillance, physical evidence and digital forensics.

Lewis-Payne entered the bank without concealing his face, fled in a vehicle captured by neighborhood cameras, wore distinctive clothing later recovered by investigators, spent cash after the robbery and carried a phone containing Google Maps history and AI interactions that authorities said reflected his preparation for the crime.

The case is also a reminder that digital planning does not disappear when a crime is completed.

Phones can retain search histories, navigation records, communications and AI interactions that investigators may later recover and place beside physical evidence.

For Lewis-Payne, that digital trail became one part of a larger federal case that ended with a sentence of 121 months in prison and five additional years under federal supervision.

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