A former armored-car guard has been sentenced to seven years on probation that's contingent on him repaying the company, Loomis Armored U.S., $29,960 that he stole.
Antonio Desmont McDuffie, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony theft in exchange for the probationary sentence. He is also required to pay a $1,000 fine and submit to random drug testing.
He has to pay at least $350 per month in restitution, and his probation can be extended if he does not repay the money in full. McDuffie can have his conviction expunged if he completes probation without getting into any more trouble with the law. The charge carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.
Deputy prosecutor Samuel Jackson said Loomis endorsed the arrangement to recoup its losses. McDuffie took $60,000 from the company but returned about half of it when company officials confronted him about the missing money about a month after he stole it, the prosecutor said.
Court records show McDuffie was arrested Dec. 14, 2015, in Little Rock, about 1½ weeks after Jonathan Rollins of New Orleans, a regional loss-prevention officer for Loomis, reported the theft.
Rollins told police that McDuffie had been accidentally issued the money Nov. 2, 2015, and the cash had been mistakenly left off the armored car's manifest.
According to the police report, McDuffie told the armored-car driver to stop by his vehicle because he had forgotten his wallet. He put the $60,000 in his lunchbox, then put the box in his vehicle, the report states. At least some of McDuffie's movements were recorded on security cameras, according to the report.
When confronted by Loomis security officials a month after the theft, McDuffie admitted to taking the money, provided a written statement to that effect and returned about half of the money immediately.
In June, another Loomis employee, 22-year-old Brandon Scott Rhea of Ward, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge, reduced from a felony, in exchange for a year on probation. He also was fined $500. He can have the conviction expunged once he completes probation.
According to a police report, the company discovered that one of three ATMs Rhea had worked on April 4 was $10,000 short. A company investigation determined that the cash was taken on March 28. Rhea returned the $10,000 when company officials confronted him about the missing money. Rhea was arrested April 10 at the Loomis office at 1300 S. Chester St. in Little Rock.
Metro on 08/26/2017