Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Disqualified driver caught over the limit
An Aberdeenshire mechanic who moved a car to avoid falling out with his neighbours was caught over the drink-drive limit.
Christoper Watson was also already disqualified from driving when police found him behind the wheel on August 29 2021.
The 40-year-old mechanic was pulled over on Sett Road in Blackburn and given a breath test, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
It detected 50mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the limit being 22mcg.
Dog restaurateur turned to heroin dealing
A career criminal returned to drug dealing when his “successful” restaurant for dogs closed after splitting with his partner, a court has heard.
Andrew Cain, 38, was arrested when police found his DNA on packages of heroin, which were discovered in a bag on the banks of the River Don in Aberdeen in September 2021.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard today how Scottish detectives established that Cain had been arrested in his home city in Liverpool in November last year.
Tequila domestic abuser
An abusive boyfriend attacked his partner and poured a bottle of tequila into her eyes during a row.
Kevin McGregor flew into a rage at an address in Aberdeen during a row about his infidelity when his now ex-partner threw a tub of pasta, which spilled on the floor.
The 36-year-old straddled her and rained punches on the woman while his son, now 18, begged him to stop.
Grandad’s cocaine business
An Aberdeen grandad-of-two has been ordered to carry out unpaid work after drugs worth £4,000 were found at his home.
James Munro appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after police seized a number of suspicious packages believed to contain illegal substances at his flat.
Officers executed a search warrant at a property on Westray Road in April last year, where they found two bags of cocaine, as well as scales and Munro’s driving licence.
The 37-year-old was later arrested and charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Shoplifter pulled Stanley knife
A shoplifter caught stealing a £425 jacket from Sports Direct pulled a Stanley knife on staff – and then later smeared faeces all over a police cell.
Colin Grant was spotted nicking the pricey CP Company jacket from Sports Direct on Berryden Road in Aberdeen on October 30 last year.
But when staff tried to stop him from leaving, the 41-year-old father-of-two struggled with them and whipped out a Stanley knife.
119mph speeder
A careless driver caught doing 119mph on a Highland road has lost his licence for nine months.
Patrycjusz Deda’s black Audi was clocked going at almost twice the speed limit on the Ballachraggan Straight outside Alness.
The stretch of two way, undivided carriageway on the B817 has a speed limit of 60mph.
Jilted boyfriend hounded ex-partner
A jilted boyfriend who refused to accept his relationship was over repeatedly followed his ex on the roads and was even caught lurking on her home roof.
David Johnston hounded his ex with texts and calls too and was often spotted lurking around her Peterhead home.
After the pair’s three-year relationship came to an end last summer Johnston became obsessed with wanting to find out if his ex was involved with other men, Peterhead Sheriff Court was told.
Convicted paedophile caught again
A convicted paedophile has been jailed after he was found with more than 2,600 images of children.
Malcolm Glennie, 54, had his Kemnay home raided by police on May 25 last year during which officers found thousands of images of children and hours of video on a Motorola mobile phone.
The pictures featured children as young as one.
More than 26 hours of video footage was also found and seized.
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Learner driver drove illegally to go fishing
A 17-year-old teenage learner driver who was let down by his lift drove illegally rather than miss out on a fishing trip with friends.
Sam Stuart’s car drew police attention with its “excessive revving and screeching” as he tried to drive it on Firhill in Alness.
But when they turned on their blue lights to stop him, he sped off, causing the front wheels to spin.
Grinning rapist ‘wishes he had a time machine’
A man who repeatedly raped a teenager wishes he had a “time machine” that he could use to stop himself from committing the abuse, a court has heard.
James Freeman, 49, told defence advocate Bert Kerrigan QC that he’d use the device to travel back to the time he preyed on the young girl.
The accused said that he’d ensure that he didn’t prey on her.
Police officer admits sexual assaults on colleagues
A north-east police sergeant has admitted sexually assaulting five female officers during work nights out in Aberdeen and Dundee.
Sergeant Ross Campbell, 44, touched and groped the women at bars and nightclubs between September 2019 and February 2020.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Campbell repeatedly grabbed the women on their buttocks and private parts – even putting ice cubes down one woman’s blouse.
Man claims he had images to bait and trap paedophiles
A man caught with 60 images and videos of child sexual abuse told police he used them to “bait and trap” paedophiles.
Officers raided the Glenshiel home of Jake Driver after receiving intelligence that a social media account had been sharing child abuse material from his IP address.
But when they found 60 indecent images and videos of children on his devices, Driver told the police that he only used them to gain access to paedophile groups so he could hack their accounts and lock them out.
Stalker sent sex toy to schoolgirl
An Aberdeen stalker who posted a parcel containing lingerie and a sex toy to a 16-year-old girl’s school has been placed on the sex offenders register and handed unpaid work.
Michael Anderson, 57, attempted the woo the girl by sending the Ann Summers items to her school along with a note saying “saw this and thought of you”.
But the box, which also contained lubricant and cleansing wipes, was opened by staff at the Aberdeen school and police were called.
Woman’s racist outburst
A Macduff woman hurled racist abuse at police officers giving her a lift home – after drunkenly becoming confused as to why she was in the car.
Carol-Anne Murdoch, 34, attacked police constables and repeatedly called them the n-word as officers drove her home from Banff police station.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Murdoch appeared to realise she was in the back of the car and panicked, lashing out at officers and telling them she would spit on them and that she “had diseases”.
She also threatened to “slash” cops and vomited, ordering one constable to clean it up.
Justice after three decades
A man who molested a young girl and threatened her with sexual violence has been brought to justice, three decades after the incidents occurred.
John Morrison, 69, admitted a charge of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards the girl, starting when she was just nine years old.
Morrison admitted touching the girl, kissing her on the mouth, removing her clothing exposing her breast and uttering a threat of sexual violence.
Domestic abuser’s Shining-style meltdown
A violent domestic abuser tried to hack his way through a bathroom door with a kitchen knife as his terrified girlfriend cowered inside.
Wayne Clark’s disturbing behaviour – reminiscent of a scene from Stephen King’s The Shining – came after several violent arguments with his partner, who he feared was being unfaithful.
The 54-year-old punched her in the face, threw plates and glass tumblers at her and on one occasion was overheard by a police handler shouting that he would kill the woman.
Double dog death charges
Three people will stand trial this summer over claims they allowed a pair of American bulldogs to kill two other dogs, as well as attack their owners.
Kano and Mist are alleged to have killed a cockapoo and a shih tzu in two separate attacks in Portsoy and Aberdeen.
It’s alleged Kano and Mist fatally injured a cockapoo Ollie while they were out of control and off a lead while being looked after by a 15-year-old boy.
MP banned for careless driving
SNP MP Angus MacNeil has been banned from the roads for three months after being found guilty of careless driving.
The Western Isles MP had been on trial on a charge of dangerous driving, but was instead convicted of the alternative charge.
It comes at the end of a trial at Lochmaddy Sheriff Court on the island of Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
Woman accused of killing toddler in crash
A woman has appeared in court charged with causing the death of a two-year-old boy in a Highland crash last summer.
Iain Mackay, from Wick, was airlifted to hospital following the incident on the A99 at Occumster but later died of his injuries.
Sonya Grace Henderson, from Lybster, has now appeared in private at Wick Sheriff Court accused of causing his death by careless driving.
Woman cleared of Covid breach at pub
Prosecutors have abandoned the case against an Aberdeen pub employee accused of breaching Covid regulations by letting customers drink inside.
Tracy Allison previously appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court facing a charge under The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Additional Temporary Measures) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.
The 41-year-old, who worked at the Victoria Bar in Torry at the time, was alleged to have breached the regulations by allowing customers to drink alcohol inside the pub.
Racing champion on driving charge
A Scottish motor racing champ has been fined for careless driving on the A90 in Perthshire.
Lewis Proctor was pulled over by police after they spotted him speeding and undertaking traffic in his father’s Bentley GT.
The 25-year-old Aberdonian, a rising star of the prestigious McLaren Driver Development Programme, was originally charged with dangerous driving, which would have resulted in a minimum 12-month ban if convicted.
Man seriously hurt in ‘square go’ fight
One half of a duo who agreed to meet up for a fight in a country lane has been hit with a £400 fine after his victim’s mum reported them both to the police.
Matthew O’Neill’s victim came off worse and needed hospital treatment and stitches.
The 22-year-old’s defence agent Leonard Burkinshaw said the pair’s “square go” had cleared the air and would have been the end of it – were it not for the concerned mum reporting their brawl.
Welder caught drink-driving in new car
A welder who got behind the wheel while over the drink-drive limit had just bought the car hours earlier, a court has heard.
Robertas Stacevicius was stopped by police on an unrelated matter but was ordered by officers to do a roadside test after they smelled alcohol on his breath.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court the 39-year-old pleaded guilty to one charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol and a second charge of driving without insurance.
Fall victim to sue city council
A father who was seriously injured falling from a third-storey window in Aberdeen is suing the city council.
Shaun Edgar is taking Aberdeen City Council to court over the incident, which happened at a property on Nellfield Place on January 6 2018.
The 36-year-old was rushed into emergency surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with a ruptured aorta and broken ribs.
Mr Edgar spent more than a week in the hospital’s intensive care unit recovering from his injuries.
Prison slasher
A judge has urged a prisoner who slashed another inmate with a razor melted to a toothbrush to change his life or face the prospect of more time in jail.
Lord Beckett told Matthew Duncan, 25, that he needed to confront the reasons why he attacked fellow convict Jamie Stewart at HMP Grampian with an improvised weapon in December 2021.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard the judge tell Mr Duncan that he needed to look at ways of improving his mental health and of how to keep out of trouble.
MMA fighter hit 100mph
A professional martial arts fighter hit speeds of 100mph as he rushed to a training session because he was worried he’d get a fine if he didn’t shed enough weight.
But that move has now cost Jake Daley his driving licence – and possibly his business – after police spied him speeding along the A96 Blackburn to Inverurie road in his black Mercedes-Benz.
He told the Aberdeen Sheriff Court he was rushing to training ahead of a pro fight the following week.
Man accused of filming police
A man is facing court accused of “behaving in a threatening or abusive manner” by filming police officers in Aberdeen and Dundee.
Barry Nixon faces a string of charges including three of “behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm” involving filming and photographing police officers.
The 39-year-old, who denies all the charges against him, is alleged to have committed offences at Nelson Street police station, Queen Street station and near Nigg police office in Aberdeen and near Baluniefield police station in Dundee.
Speeder had slept in
An Aberdeen biker who was clocked doing double the speed limit claims he did it because he slept in and was going to be late for work.
Forbes Morrison, 52, was in a hurry to unlock the gates of the new £16 million Milltimber primary school building site when he was caught speeding on North Deeside Road.
He was clocked “stupidly” hitting 62mph while overtaking another vehicle in a 30mph zone on September 29 2021, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
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Merseyside men on drugs charges
Three men from the Merseyside area have appeared in court charged with drug dealing.
Jack Horgan, 23, Carl Masher, 24, and Liam Riley, 25, appeared on petition in private at Inverness Sheriff Court
They each made no plea to the charge, all were committed for further examination and released on bail.
The date for the next hearing is yet to be set.
Motherwell fan caught with ecstasy and cocaine at Pittodrie
A young football fan caught trying to carry cocaine and ecstasy into Pittodrie has been handed a hefty fine.
Motherwell FC supporter Evan Johnstone was found with the Class A drugs as he visited the Dons’ stadium for the Scottish Premiership clash on November 6 last year.
But the 22-year-old was searched by police and they found the drugs – worth more than £300.
The 1.4g of cocaine had a value of £130 while the 19 ecstasy tablets were worth £190.
OAP crashed Land Rover
A drink-driving pensioner had to be rescued from her car after crashing into a ditch while more than double the alcohol limit.
Frances McInally, or Salter, 73, had turned to drink to help her sleep the night before the incident on May 2.
She had thought the alcohol would have worn off the following morning, but when she got behind the wheel of her husband’s green Range Rover she crashed off the road.
Takeaway attack
A man has admitted assaulting a reveller after a row outside a city centre takeaway.
Jarvis Mathieson exchanged words with his victim in Drummond Street, Inverness, before punching him twice to the head.
He admitted a single charge of assault to injury under provocation at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Man who sexually assaulted teenage girls spared jail
A north-east man who molested two young girls and forced them to view pornographic videos has been spared jail and offered help to instead “get his life back on track”.
Alastair Bruce sexually assaulted the youngsters, aged just 13 and 15, and played adult videos in front of them in Aberdeenshire.
The 58-year-old was convicted following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in March.
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