Armourguard worker stole $170,000 from ATM and buried cash in his garden

The security guard stole money from an ATM machine using codes he memorised from work. Photo / File

A Christchurch security guard who raided cash from an ATM in a "well-planned heist" and buried $130,000 in his garden has today been jailed for more than two years.

Tony John Williams, 38, was employed by nationwide security company Armourguard's cash-in-transit team, transporting money and stocking cash machines around Christchurch.

But at 2.07am on January 21 this year, Williams entered a city laundromat alone, using a key and alarm codes that he had memorised from his job.

He removed cassettes containing $50 and $20 notes from an ASB cash machine at the premises and snuck off with $179,300.

Williams resigned three days after the burglary.

When spoken to by police, Williams confessed and led them to where he had buried $130,000 in his garden.

He had stashed another $10,000 inside his house.

He spent $38,000 on tattoos, flights, concert tickets, a drone, an upright piano, alcohol, cigarettes and groceries.

Before sentencing at Christchurch District Court today, Williams produced a cheque for $37,818.10 – from his parents who are supporting him and were in court – to cover the rest of the missing money.

Defence counsel Shannon-Leigh Litt said alcohol had clearly been an issue for Williams and he was committed to rehabilitation.

Judge Tom Gilbert said that after the burglary, it became clear it was an inside job, and suspicion soon fell on all of Williams' colleagues.

He jailed Williams for two years and two months after concluding it was "not an offence borne of drunken stupidity" but rather it was a "well-planned heist".