Sara Haque defended former Dental Nurse, Sarah Gray, following a series of desperate burglaries targeting chemists to secure the powerful painkiller drug, dihydrocodeine.

The case, which involved two robberies where Sarah Gray took prescription opiates from Everest Pharmacy in Ardwick, was heard at Manchester Crown Court.

Sarah Gray had just completed a community order for two previous pharmacy burglaries when the offences at Everest Pharmacy occurred.

Speaking with the Manchester Evening News, Criminal Barrister Sara Haque explained that “Sarah Gray was addicted to these so strongly that she acted in a way she would never normally act. 

“Every time she took her medication, she would go into panic mode as to when they were going to run out and became obsessed with the idea of where her medication would come from.

“She describes spending time counting her medication to work out how long it would last and, when she was registered with a GP, she would attend repeatedly to beg for medication.”

Sara Haque employed her considerable interpersonal skills in representing the former Dental Nurse and mum who had lost everything and become homeless after a ten-year addiction to painkillers following experiencing back pain and sciatica. 

She disclosed how the loss of a baby boy, less than one-year-old, had profoundly affected Sarah Gray, and informed the Judge of how she was completing a course on drug awareness and being treated with methadone in Prison.

The Criminal Barrister presented a psychiatric report on Gray’s mental health problems linked to drug use, detailing her anxiety, depression, bipolar and panic disorders, to the Judge. 

Having considered the seven months Sarah Gray spent in prison on reprimand, her remorse, and the detailed psychiatric report Sara Haque had presented, the Judge decided to pass a suspended sentence.

This suspended sentence (21 months, suspended for two years, with a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement) represented a positive outcome for Sara Haque’s client.

With over 20 years of Criminal Advocacy experience, Sara Haque is well known in the Crown Courts on the Northern Circuit. She has successfully built a heavyweight criminal practice and has a high success rate in defending cases of the utmost seriousness.

If you have a Crime case you want Sara Haque to represent you in call our Criminal Clerk Paul Mander on 0161 832 4036, email [email protected] or fill out our contact form.