Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Walk breached non-harassment order
An Inverness man has been fined after breaching a court order to stay away from his ex-partner – by accepting an invitation to go for a walk with her.
Jamie Macdonald, 49, had previously been hit with a non-harassment order after he was convicted of a domestic abuse offence involving his ex-partner last year.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard the pair, who had previously been in a relationship for six years, wished to reconcile, And Macdonald accepted an invitation to go for a walk – in breach of the court order.
Defence solicitor David Patterson told Sheriff Robert Macdonald wished to resume their relationship.
Thug’s thumb attack
A violent thug has been jailed after he forced his thumb into a woman’s eye – leaving her bleeding and unable to see or defend herself.
Conor Bardrick had been visiting a friend in Aberdeen when the pair began to argue about dirty dishes, and he flew into a violent rage.
When a neighbour came to the woman’s aid, Bardrick turned his attention on her, forcing his thumb into her eye not once but twice, before throwing knives into the living room wall.
Drink-driver blamed phone call
A woman who was found to be almost three times the drink-driving limit tried to blame her swerving across the road on getting a phone call.
Kirsty McLeod’s erratic driving was spotted by officers on Gordon’s Mills Road and they pulled her over.
Despite her excuse – which would be a crime in itself – a breath test quickly proved the 27-year-old was over the alcohol limit and she was arrested.
Stalker tried to out teacher as gay
A vindictive stalker sent letters to a north-east teacher’s home and school aimed at outing him as gay.
Matthew Smith appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted bombarding the teacher with letters, messages and pictures where he accused him of being homosexual and hiding the fact.
Smith, a retail worker, also sent letters to the man’s parents and colleagues in an attempt to expose his sexuality.
MCAT dealer spared jail
A man caught red-handed with a holdall containing £2,500 worth of the synthetic drug MCAT has been spared a prison sentence.
Benjamin Grant, now 22, was just 20 when cops followed him in a taxi to an address in Fraserburgh where they found him with nearly 60g of the drug.
As Grant was searched by police they also found a set of knuckledusters and cocaine in his possession.
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Housebreaker snared by DNA on spade
A serial housebreaker has been jailed after his DNA was discovered on a garden spade used to force open a bathroom window in Aberdeen.
Peter Michie’s record was branded “absolutely atrocious” as he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted two more charges of theft by housebreaking – the latest in a string of similar offences.
This time, the 50-year-old used a spade to force open a bathroom window on St Machar Place, making off with radios and food, and smashed a window to gain access to a property on Regent Walk to steal a laptop and cash.
Zinger saved by a whisker
A north-east dog who bit a child and a neighbour has avoided being destroyed “by a whisker”.
Collie-cross Zinger sank its teeth into a 12-year-old boy’s arm and was dangerously out of control at Balmedie beach, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
A few months later he did the same again, this time to one of the neighbours of owner Hazel Farquhar.
Kidnapper may never be released
A notorious sex offender caged nearly 15 years ago for the abduction and attempted rape of a 14-year-old north-east papergirl was today warned that he could be kept behind bars for the rest of his life.
James Murison, 59, was jailed in 2007 after forcing the papergirl into his house in Huntly, tying her wrists and ankles, and sexually assaulting her until police, alerted by neighbours who heard her screams, arrived to free her.
He was due for release next year, but after hearing that Murison had sexually assaulted a female prison officer at top security HMP Glenochil in Clackmannanshire a sheriff ruled today that he should go before a judge at the High Court to consider the imposition of an order for lifelong restriction.
Rapist filmed Aberdeen attack
A rapist who filmed himself sexually assaulting an Aberdeen woman as she wept has been sent to prison.
Peter Renton, 39, was given a six-year-and-three-month long jail term today after Lady Scott concluded he posed a threat to public safety.
The High Court heard how landscape gardener Renton preyed on his two victims between April 2019 and June 2021 at addresses in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Musselburgh.
Pensioners accused of tax evasion
An Aberdeen couple are facing court over allegations they fraudulently evaded paying almost £500,000 in income tax and national insurance contributions.
Raymond and Ilene Esslemont, both 70, face a total of four charges of tax evasion between 2006 and 2019 in respect of themselves individually and also their employees.
The pair, whose address was given in court papers as Margaret Place, Aberdeen, deny the charges against them.
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Every day our reporters are sitting in courtrooms around the area and now you can get their stories sent directly to you, five days a week.
Girlfriend’s vicious assault
A Stonehaven woman has been handed unpaid work after assaulting her boyfriend – and smashing up his van with a metal pole.
Charlene Hatten punched and kicked her boyfriend, before turning her aggression towards his vehicle when he walked away.
Neighbours tried to intervene and calm the 25-year-old down, but could not stop her grabbing a metal pole and setting about the man’s van.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told the court the incident happened in the early hours of December 20.
Killer car thief was wanted man
A car thief who killed an Aberdeen dad in a horrific hit-and-run is one of north-west England’s most wanted men.
Shaun Rimmer sparked a police chase that ended in the fatal crash when he took off at speed through the streets of the Granite City in August last year.
Rimmer, 28, struck dad-of-three Simon Musabayana as he crossed Great Northern Road throwing him onto the windscreen and over the roof of the vehicle.
Mental health nurse Mr Musabayana, 48, died in hospital 26 days after the fatal collision.
E-scooter rider caused drug-driving crash
A drug-driving care home worker caused a crash when he took a roundabout on his e-scooter.
Lorne Hay, 33, was riding his electric vehicle to work when he joined Queens Road in Aberdeen and collided with another vehicle.
Hay was thrown from his e-scooter and was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
A blood test showed Hay had nearly double the legal limit for cannabis in his system.
Man cleared of doorstep stanning
A man accused of stabbing a man in the arm and back following an exchange of aggressive calls and messages has been acquitted by a jury.
The jury at Inverness Sheriff Court took less than half an hour to return a majority verdict of not proven to a charge that David Hobbs assaulted Brian Skillin to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
The court had previously heard two different versions of the events of October 5 2019, when police were called to Anderson Street in the Merkinch area of Inverness and discovered a bloodied Mr Skillin.
Guilty plea in farm fire case
A man has admitted deliberately starting a fire that destroyed north-east farm buildings occupied by a family and caused more than £10,000 of damage.
Emergency crews raced to Waulkmill Farm in Rothienorman on the evening of November 26 2019 as the blaze ripped through outbuildings and hay bales – injuring cattle in the process.
Firefighters battled the flames into the night as the farmer desperately tried to evacuate his cattle.
And now Ryan Milne has admitted a charge of wilful fireraising over the dramatic incident.
Man jailed after stand-off
A man has been jailed after running towards a gun-wielding cop while brandishing a screwdriver – and then being brought to the ground by a police dog.
John Easson was involved in the tense standoff with armed cops for nearly two hours before the police dog’s action finally brought the incident to an end.
The 31-year-old had earlier armed himself with a knife and refused to come out of his mum’s flat on Aberdeen’s Ferrier Crescent.
Teen speeder’s double trouble
A Peterhead teenager has been banned from the road after being caught speeding on the A90 – at more than 110mph.
Callum Cooper was clocked flying along the busy route at eye-watering speeds not once but twice.
The 19-year-old pled guilty to driving on the A90 just south of Stonehaven on July 31 at an average speed of 99mph. The speed limit is 70mph.
And he also admitted hitting 111mph on the A90 near St Fergus Gas Terminal on August 25 – almost double the 60mph limit in the area.
Taxi ride to justice
A serial thief who robbed three taxi drivers of their takings was finally foiled when a brave cabbie locked the doors of his cab and drove him straight to a police station.
Alexander Murison, 41, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted stealing the evening’s earnings and change bag from drivers in three separate incidents across the Granite City.
Murison also admitted attempted to get a lift from a stranger with a large kitchen knife sticking out of his pocket.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of theft and one of being in possession of a knife.
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