Joshua Shane Evans Costigan, 24, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to robbery and possessing a weapon.
The court heard that after days of planning and scouting out potential targets, the defendant selected a Kiwibank in central Christchurch to rob.
On October 4, he went there disguised in a large black Afro wig, a surgical mask, a puffer jacket and dark sunglasses and had a backpack on the front of his body with a hammer in it.
Costigan slipped the teller a note that read: "I have a gun in my bag. Hand me all the money from the till."
Fearing for her safety, the woman handed over the cash.
As the defendant left, he was tackled to the ground by a security guard, who restrained him until police arrived.
Police discovered he had a hammer with him, but did not have a gun.
Costigan told officers he had been planning the crime for the previous five days and chose this particular bank because of its proximity to his escape route.
He confessed his motivation to steal the money was so he did not have to work and that during the robbery he held his vape near his bag to give the impression he had a gun.
Costigan also revealed his plans to rob a Michael Hill Jeweller store using the hammer to smash glass cabinets.
Yesterday, the court heard the bank employee was glad the defendant was arrested but thought it was "crazy" the offence occurred so close to a police station.
After the incident, seeing people of a similar build to Costigan put her on edge and the impact of the offending would stay with her forever, she said.
Yesterday, counsel Brendan Stephenson said his client had committed the offence at a "particularly low point" in his life, but had been honest about his wrong-doing since his arrest.
"He’s given a very full and frank interview where he’s essentially volunteered to the police the extent of the planning," Mr Stephenson said.
He said Costigan was coming down from methamphetamine when he robbed the bank and was seeking help for his addiction.
"His priority is to never touch methamphetamine again because it causes disaster in his life and other people’s lives and that is something he’s keenly aware of," Mr Stephenson said.
The defendant told a Probation officer the crime was "a cry for help".
He said he was "paranoid and delusional" and his "brain was scrambled" because he was coming down from methamphetamine.
Judge David Robinson noted the defendant’s disadvantaged background and addiction issues but also highlighted the risk he posed when committing the crime in his unpredictable state.
The judge sentenced Costigan to two years and four months’ imprisonment and ordered the disguise and the hammer be destroyed.
