A WOMAN has been found guilty of stealing a stamper from Maple Practice, Lisnaskea.
Nicola Leonard of Beech Hill, Cavanaleck denied stealing a practice stamp belonging to Maple Practice on January 25th 2017.
Leonard, who appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Wednesday had previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud, namely presenting a false prescription to Armstrong’s Pharmacy, one count of making a false prescription and one count of being in possession of a false prescription.
On January 25th, Leonard arrived at Maple Practice without an appointment between 4.15pm and 4.40pm and asked Marie McGuirk, a health visitor, to stamp a letter for her. In an interview with Police, Marie McGuirk, recalled how she was in the baby room when Leonard came to the door and appeared agitated.
Leonard was insistent on having the letter stamped, even though Mrs McGuirk had told her a stamp was not required on it. She then took Leonard to the receptionist, and stamped the letter. The court heard how Leonard then pointed at the receptionist and left soon after. The stamp has been missing from the Practice since.
Leonard then presented a hand-written prescription with the practice stamp on it along with a typed prescription to Armstrong pharmacy, Lisnaskea. When Leonard presented the prescription to the pharmacy, the pharmacist called the Doctor to confirm the prescription and was told that Leonard was not prescribed the hand written prescription.
The Court also heard how Doctor said the handwriting on the prescription was not hers, and she was not sure how Leonard got the stamp or prescriptions.
When arrested, Leonard denied the theft of the stamp, but accepted that she had forged the hand written prescription but referred to the stamper falling into her bag.
Leonard told the court that she wrote on the prescription and the stamp was already on the prescription. When District Judge Nigel Broderick asked if she used the stamp, she said she could have used the stamp, but ‘I cannot remember that day.’
Judge Broderick pointed out that Leonard did not have clear recollection of the day, and that he has no reason to believe that the doctor’s surgery would have stamped prescriptions lying around.
He continued, saying that Leonard did steal the stamp, hand wrote the prescription and presented it to the pharmacy to get drugs that she was not entitled to.
After hearing all of the evidence, District Judge Nigel Broderick found Leonard guilty and the case has been adjourned until September 6th to allow for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
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