Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Mum led police on chase
A mum-of-two veered into oncoming traffic and drove around a roundabout the wrong way in an effort to avoid police.
Rebecca Hatten, 23, drove at excessive speeds as she was chased by police around the streets of Aberdeen after a check showed she had no licence or insurance.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard her how other road users had to take evasive action as Hatten’s silver Vauxhall Astra barrelled towards.
Men caught with £35k drugs haul
Police caught three men with a £34,000 drugs haul during a raid on a rented property in Aberdeen, a court was told.
Lloyd Brown, 28, Harry Rodgers, 25, and Anas Sakhi, 22, were all caught with cocaine and diamorphine at a flat in Richmond Terrace on March 5 2021.
Brown, from London, who has spent 52 months behind bars for drugs supply, denied all knowledge when caught and claimed that he was at the property to cook for the others.
Stepson’s attack on man cleared of killing
The stepson of a man brutally murdered in Fraserburgh has appeared in the dock himself after attacking one of the men cleared of the killing.
Teenager James Graham was armed with a metal pole during the vicious assault on one of the men accused of the murder of Gary Clampett.
The then 16-year-old set about David Graham with the aid of an accomplice, who was jailed for his part in the attack.
Teen’s screwdriver attack on taxi driver
A teenager brutally stabbed an Inverness taxi driver with screwdrivers and told him “I will make you blind,” a court has heard.
The then 16-year-old carried out the unprovoked attack on the man in the Highland capital on July 7 last year.
His 44-year-old victim had confronted the boy after fearing he and a friend were going to flee without paying his fare.
Man on trial accused of killing teacher
A man has gone on trial accused of causing the death of a popular north-east teacher, who died in a crash while returning from holiday with her husband and two children.
Yvonne Lumsden’s car crashed off the road after the collision involving Raymond Lamb’s Mitsubishi L200 truck.
Lamb, 31, is accused of driving the vehicle dangerously and at an excessive speed with a trailer that had a defective braking system.
He is also accused of driving without insurance and with faulty lamps and broken reflectors.
Man scaled drainpipe and started fire
An entire block of flats had to be evacuated after a jealous ex started a huge blaze outside his partner’s home where she lived with their daughter.
Just hours before Patryk Pogodzinski had scaled a drainpipe and hung through the kitchen window of his former partner’s home before hurling food at her after realising she was video calling her new boyfriend.
After being chased away, the 27-year-old dad went to a nearby garage and bought £5 worth of petrol before returning to her home at 2.30am and starting a huge fire.
Attacker splattered with blood in brutal bottle assault
A man who drunkenly smashed a bottle of Budweiser beer over the head of a schoolmate he had “no issues with” has been jailed for 27 months.
The unprovoked attack left Graeme Hunter, 31, splattered in blood and his victim permanently scarred and needing surgery.
Hunter was described in Aberdeen Sheriff Court as a “significant risk” to the public.
Man torched workplace
A man has been jailed after he torched his own workplace, causing tens of thousands of pounds of damage.
Simon Butler, 46, poured petrol in the yard of Aberdeen Heating Limited and the resulting fire engulfed seven vehicles.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that the fire ripped through the Bucksburn site causing a “catastrophic incident” and damage to vehicles that was estimated at around £14,000.
The combined damage to the yard and vehicles totalled close to £30,000.
Man cleared of terrorism charges
An autistic Aberdeen man with an “interest” in chemistry has walked free from court after a jury acquitted him of terrorism and explosives offences.
Richard Smith, 29, was unanimously found not guilty of engaging in conduct for the preparation of committing acts of terrorism.
Mr Smith, formerly of King Street in Aberdeen, was acquitted of two further charges with not proven verdicts at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Young farmer’s death could not have been prevented
No precautions could have prevented the horrific death of a “highly experienced” and well-regarded Turriff farmer, an inquiry has concluded.
Caroline Rennie, 21, suffered multiple injuries when she tried to jump onto a moving tractor while a field was being ploughed and sewn for barley seed on April 3 last year.
The tragedy happened close to the A974 road near the Hatton Estate in Turriff and sent shockwaves throughout the farming community and beyond.
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‘I’m going to stab you’
A man who pulled a knife on a former schoolmate and told him “I’m going to stab you” has been jailed for 12 months.
Binghii Joseph, 24, brandished the blade at his girlfriend’s ex-partner during a “primitive” confrontation and then chased the terrified man through Aberdeen city centre.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that Joseph’s victim had visited his Holland Street flat to collect clothes that his ex-girlfriend had left there.
“He arrived at the flat around 10.30pm and pressed the buzzer a few times,” the fiscal said.
Liverpool dealer peddled drugs in north-east
A drug dealer caught peddling cocaine and heroin in the north-east claims he was obeying orders from an English organised crime gang, who had threatened to hurt his family.
Rhyan Kelly was found with Class A drugs worth around £2,000 at his Boddam home when police carried out an intelligence-led raid, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
The 22-year-old had a quantity of cash, measuring scales and packaging and was quick to deny owning any of the drugs or money when interviewed by police.
Catholic pulled gun on Mormons
A devout Catholic who pointed a replica handgun at two Mormon missionaries who turned up at his door has been jailed for 136 days.
Robert Sacawa, 42, threatened the two women as they tried to introduce him to their faith.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Sacawa’s weapon was a replica of a Colt 9mm automatic pistol and could only fire pellets.
However, the two preachers didn’t know that and they ran away from the scene terrified.
‘You’re a victim’
A teenage attacker told a man he was “being victimised” as he pummeled him in the street, a court has heard.
Max Hosie, 19, set about the man as he made his way home from a friend’s house near Broomhill Road in Aberdeen by punching him to the ground then sitting on him.
As Hosie rained down blows on the man, he told him: “You’re a victim.”
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Man hurled death threat at child
A furious young driver told a 13-year-old boy he’d kill him if he rode his bike in front of his car again.
Ben Firth hurled abuse and threats at the child in a playpark after he spotted him riding his bicycle on the pavement and between two cars in Ellon.
Firth’s wild over-reaction came about when their paths crossed again two days later.
Ex-retail worker had sick images
An Aberdeen man has admitted hoarding videos and photographs of children as young as one being sexually abused.
Stephen Rogan, 30, was snared by police when they executed a search warrant and seized two mobile phones at his home on May 16 last year.
He downloaded 516 images and more than two hours of indecent videos, many in the most serious category.
Hamish sniffs out drug runner
A Shetland man who attempted to bring £15,000 worth of cocaine through Aberdeen Railway Station was foiled by a drug dog called Hamish.
Mark Scholes, 45, was stopped by police as he arrived in the city and was found to have three packages of cocaine hidden inside an iPad box.
Scholes, who had travelled to Aberdeen from Leeds, claimed he had “never seen them before”.
House party ends in stabbing
A house party in the Outer Hebrides turned violent when one of the revellers was stabbed repeatedly.
The attacker, 27-year-old James Downie, has been warned by Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald that “all options are open to the court” and he could be facing jail.
Downie, of Carabhat, Carinish, North Uist, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting the man in a house in Balivanich on Benbecula.
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