By SCOTT INGLIS
A man armed with a Moro bar robbed a credit union - and then ate the evidence.
Ruka Gardner hid the chocolate bar in his pocket and pretended it was a gun, making off with $4110 from Whangarei's Westforce Credit Union.
But the 21-year-old Gardner, unemployed, has avoided prison after asking Odyssey House in Auckland to help him with his alcohol and drug problems.
In the High Court at Whangarei on Monday, Justice Judith Potter sentenced Gardner to three years and six months in jail but suspended the term for 18 months.
Gardner bought the Moro bar from a dairy on July 12, disguised himself with a hat, sunglasses and scarf and cased the credit union.
He removed his disguise and joined a queue before passing a teller a note demanding money.
Gardner told the Herald last night from Odyssey House that he did the robbery because Work and Income NZ had cut his dole a month earlier, claiming he was not looking for a job.
He had been drinking bourbon before the raid. Afterwards, he caught a taxi to Onerahi Beach pontoon, where he lit a cigarette and ate the Moro. Most of the money went on alcohol.
Police caught him in August and he was held in Mt Eden's remand prison, where he decided to turn around his life of substance abuse and crime.
Odyssey House accepted him into a residential programme, where he has stayed since being granted bail in October. He has to stay another six months as part of his sentence.
His lawyer, Steve Cole, said last night: "He's done fantastically.
"I have seen such a fantastic change from the first day. He got off his backside himself and did this. I can't speak glowingly enough of him."
Gardner is now helping others inside Odyssey and may pursue a career in photography.
Moro robber escapes a term behind bars
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