A ‘reckless’ criminal with a string of offences stretching back to childhood has been jailed for killing a teenager in a car crash as he desperately tried to evade police.
Mohammed Raheem Arshad was being pursued when he drove through a red light and collided with a BMW.
Such was the force of the collision that the Toyota Aqua Hybrid Arshad was driving was flipped onto its back. His passenger, 18-year-old Deven Andrews, was thrown from the vehicle and killed.
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Yesterday (March 10), Arshad, 29, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with an extended licence period of four years after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
A hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard Arshad, of Kingsway in Rochdale, had come into possession of a Toyota Aqua which had been reported missing on November 24, 2024.
On December 3, he was driving the car, which had been fitted with fake number plates, when he attempted to steal a motorbike using an electric saw to break the chain.
A member of the public had spotted the attempted theft taking place and called the police, who located and began pursuing the vehicle.
Rather than pulling over Arshad, who the court heard was over the limit for drugs while behind the wheel, tried to evade the tactical pursuit officers, driving recklessly in his desperation to escape justice.
He then ran a red light on Manchester Road to try and evade police at around 9.15pm.
The driver then smashed into another car so hard that Deven was thrown from the passenger seat. The stolen Toyota ended up coming to rest on its back.
Despite the efforts of police and paramedics, Deven was declared deceased at the scene. Arshad was arrested after police spotted him crawling from the wreckage.
He was then taken to hospital in custody, and gave a no comment interview.
Prior to his sentencing, the 29-year-old wrote a letter expressing his remorse for his actions and his behaviour.
Unconvinced, Judge Jason MacAdam told the defendant he had the opportunity to express remorse earlier, including to Deven’s family, but had instead waited only until he was being sentenced.
The court also heard that Arshad had a long history of offending stretching back to when he was still just a child.
Judge MacAdam told the defendant: “You have 36 convictions for 61 offences over a period of some 15 years, that’s beginning before your adult life started and continuing relentlessly.”
He added: “Attempts to rehabilitate you have failed.”
The judge described how Arshad demonstrated “a pattern of offending that has escalated in seriousness”.
Daniel Lister, prosecuting, read out victim impact statements from Deven’s younger sister and his mum in which they both spoke of their devastating loss, saying that their son and brother would be “forever 18”.
Adam Rocksborough, defending, told the court: “Hearing those victim impact statements one can’t but feel a deep and heartfelt sympathy for their tragic loss and their sense of anguish.”
Judge MacAdam gave Arshad a ten year custodial sentenced with an extended licence period of four years. He also found that Arshad posed a danger to the general public, and that as a result he must serve two thirds of his sentence in custody before being considered for release on licence, instead of the usual half.
Arshad was also banned from driving for 11 and a half years.
He admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while unlicensed and uninsured, aggravated vehicle taking, driving a vehicle while unfit due to drugs, and attempted theft.
“He was just 18, and through your actions will never enjoy the adult life that was ahead of him,” Judge MacAdam told Arshad, adding: “This offending formed a part of the similar offending by you. Because of your risk-taking behaviour, an incident like this was inevitable.”
