Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Legal fight for conman’s ill-gotten gains
A lawyer representing a prolific north-east conman is “hopeful” that his client will soon settle a proceeds of crime action, a court heard.
Advocate Ronnie Renucci QC told judge Fiona Tait on Monday that he is awaiting final instructions on the matter from his client Alistair Greig.
The 68-year-old businessman is serving a 10-year sentence for carrying out a Ponzi scam which sucked in dozens of individuals to place their funds in “guaranteed” high interest accounts.
Jurors found that Greig pocketed more than £13 million from the scam.
Plumber guilty of fatal crash
A plumber was today facing prison after being found guilty of causing a crash that killed a popular north-east teacher.
Yvonne Lumsden’s car was struck head-on by a trailer while she was driving her husband Stuart and their two daughters home to New Deer after a family holiday in London.
The jury at the High Court in Aberdeen returned guilty verdicts to two charges against Raymond Lamb, who was towing the trailer when it became untethered from his truck and swung out into the path of Ms Lumsden’s Volkswagen Polo.
Teen dumped ketamine in wheelie bin
A teenager dumped bags of drugs in a wheelie bin after an unsuccessful attempt to give police the slip.
Philip Sinclair was just 17 when he was found dealing ketamine in Froghall Terrace in Aberdeen.
He was with a group of friends in the early hours of the morning on June 9 2020 when they aroused the suspicion of police officers.
Man admits break-in at vets
A man has admitted stealing medicine and medical implements from a vet in Huntly – as well as a trampoline from Asda.
The incident happened at around 2.45am on Thursday, June 16 at Strathbogie Veterinary Centre.
Animal medication and veterinary equipment are said to have been stolen from the business on Gordon Street, which offers care to cats, dogs and farm animals.
Man told to grow up
A man who drunkenly “horsed about” on the back of a parked motorbike has been handed supervision and told to “stop making stupid decisions”.
Paul Pirie was spotted on CCTV rocking the parked motorbike back and forward and trying to move it on George Street in Aberdeen.
The 35-year-old, who had mixed medication with alcohol while watching football earlier that day, caused more than £250 worth of damage to the bike.
Former Aberdeen player accused of assault
Footballer Funso Ojo is facing allegations he assaulted a man at Tannadice and knocked his glasses off.
The recently-released former Aberdeen midfielder is accused of assaulting Donald Dewar at Dundee United’s stadium on November 20 last year.
Ex-Belgium under-21 star Ojo was not present at Dundee Justice of the Peace Court on Tuesday when his case called.
Teen accused of Peterhead shop robbery bid
A teenager has appeared in court in connection with an attempted robbery at a Peterhead store.
Jay Jamieson has been arrested and charged with assault and attempted robbery, theft by shoplifting, possession of an offensive weapon and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
His arrest comes after police officers received reports of the attempted robbery at the Premier convenience store in the Meethill area of the town at around 3.30pm last Thursday, June 16.
Orkney murder charge
A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 21-year-old in Orkney.
An arrest was made following the discovery by police of the dead man in a property in Marengo Road, St Margaret’s Hope, at 7.30am on Sunday morning.
Erland Fraser, 49, from South Ronaldsay, has now appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court.
He made no plea, was committed for further examination and remanded in custody.
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Serious onion assault
A man is set to stand trial accused of leaving another man seriously injured – by assaulting him with an onion.
Oussama Idrissi pled not guilty to a charge of assault to severe injury when the case called against him at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The 30-year-old is alleged to have committed the vegetable-based attack at Rubislaw Park Care Home on November 24 2020.
Companies fined over port tragedy
Two companies have been fined a total of £154,000 after a crew member of a vessel was run over by a forklift on the quayside at Invergordon.
Ramon Capistrano was dragged beneath the vehicle and suffered fatal injuries in the 2016 accident, Tain Sheriff Court was told.
The 55-year-old was boatswain of the Deep Energy pipe laying vessel and had been tasked with periodically checking the mooring ropes of the ship while it was docked at Quay Five.
Men accused of car thefts
Two men have appeared in court after a number of car thefts and attempted robberies in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Cars were stolen from properties on Morningfield Road and North Anderson Drive in Aberdeen and Hillside Crescent in Westhill in the early hours of Monday, June 20.
Police say attempted thefts were also reported on Hamilton Place and Morningfield Road in Aberdeen and Hillside Crescent in Westhill at about the same time.
Watch: Homes raided by police
More than two dozen police officers forced their way into homes in Aberdeen during a crackdown on drug dealing.
Four properties which were linked with anti-social behaviour and the supply of drugs were targeted with search warrants.
Three police vans and other vehicles travelled in convoy to the addresses in Torry.
‘I’ve been done for murder’
A terrified mum woke up to find a stranger in her home who, when confronted, bragged he’d been “done for murder”.
Gavin Reid made the horrifying boast before following up with “you’d better watch your family” after being discovered by the woman in the early hours of the morning.
The court heard Reid, 36, had been in the Torry flats to source drugs but was attacked and robbed so sought refuge in the woman’s home.
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Man admits biting partner
A man who carried out assaults on his partner over a two-year period has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Jordan Reid appeared in the dock and admitted attacking the woman on a number of occasions – including punching her and biting her on the lip.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 23-year-old also cut her with broken glass during a separate incident.
Unrepentant paedophile
An unrepentant paedophile downloaded indecent images of children less than 24 hours after a police raid on his home.
Repeat offender Christopher Nagle has appeared in court and admitted two charges of downloading and possessing a total of 878 still images of 18 videos of child abuse on his mobile phone.
He started amassing his sickening collection on February 6 2019 – the day after police swooped on his Lossiemouth home and found 280 indecent videos and images of toddlers and teenagers.
Man on £520k cannabis charge
A man has appeared in court after a £500,000 cannabis farm was discovered in Aberdeen.
Arunas Dirgela, 51, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on two drug charges.
Dirgela is accused of breaking the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 by producing and supplying a controlled substance.
High-risk paedophile jailed
A high-risk paedophile who flashed at children and carried out a sex act while sitting on a gravestone in Aberdeen has been jailed for 30 months.
Serial sex offender Stephen Bell, 62, was also given a further three-year extended sentence in a bid to protect the public from harm.
He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life after he admitted a series of sexual offences when he appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Forest digging sparks ketamine discovery
A man was caught selling ketamine after an off-duty detective spotted him digging in a forest with a friend.
Ross Reid, 23, was stopped by police in woodland near Kinellar due to a tip-off from the officer, who claimed the two men “were known to her”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that officers searched Reid’s Ford Fiesta after smelling cannabis in the air and uncovered hundreds of pounds of the drug, as well as ketamine.
Reid’s solicitor told the court his client had intended to earn “the proverbial fast buck”.
Domestic abuse victim threw herself from car
A profoundly deaf woman threw herself from a moving vehicle to escape her abusive boyfriend.
Scott Fraser, 47, appeared in the dock and admitted a catalogue of abuse against his former partner over a three-month period.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how the woman pulled on the handbrake before leaping from the moving car in a desperate attempt to get away.
Fraser, who is also deaf, drove off and left her lying injured in the street.
Shining-style knife attack
A domestic abuser has been handed a supervision order after stabbing a hole in a bathroom door in a horrifying Shining-style attack.
Wayne Clark’s terrified wife cowered inside the bathroom as he battered the locked door with his hand and a knife, eventually stabbing a hole in it.
Clark also threw dinner plates and a glass at the woman and fell out of his wheelchair in the course of a struggle.
Atrocious threats to ARI staff
A man has been jailed after threatening to kill Aberdeen Royal Infirmary staff during a campaign of “abominable” intimidation.
Alan Goffin, known as Wyness, subjected various staff to vile abuse and threats over a period of more than seven months while he was an inpatient at ARI.
The 46-year-old threatened to throw acid at staff, stab them, and even have them killed, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Teen gave children drugs in hotel room
A teenager invited two 13-year-old girls to an Aberdeen hotel room and then gave them drugs, a court has heard.
Ritchie Jackson, now 21, was found in the city centre Travelodge with the children after meeting them on Snapchat.
When police arrived after being tipped off by hotel staff, they found hundreds of pounds worth of ketamine and the euphoric stimulant drug Eutylone.
Groper sentenced
A grieving pensioner who repeatedly groped a nightclub promoter on Union Street has been handed a supervision order and unpaid work.
Andrew Hunter sexually assaulted the woman after turning to drink following the sudden death of his partner.
The 67-year-old grabbed the 20-year-old’s bum, then continued to loiter in the area before returning and grabbing her a second time.
Abuse victim lost count of assaults
A violent Aberdeen man has been ordered to carry out unpaid work following a campaign of domestic abuse that happened so many times his victim “lost count”.
Robert Harrison, 59, subjected his partner to repeated abuse, including punching and pushing her body and striking her head, over a period of 15 months.
On one occasion he even locked her out of the house, leaving her “extremely distressed” in the rain wearing only one slipper.
Changing room flasher
A man who flashed at three boys in the changing room of a leisure centre has narrowly avoided jail and been placed on the sex offenders’ register.
Ian Thain winked at the boys and pointed at his penis leaving one of his victims “shaking in discomfort”.
He appeared for sentencing at Kirkwall Sheriff Court having previously admitted intentionally exposing his genitals in a sexual manner and making indecent comments while naked.
Face mask row sparks assaults
A factory worker caused a disturbance in an Elgin bar after being asked to leave for not wearing a face mask.
Lloyd Irvine assaulted two workers at the Kirkie Bar after he was told he must wear a face covering inside the pub.
The 36-year-old was seen to “lunge” across the bar at the Main Street pub and try to seize the men, before shoving them.
Dolphin disturbance
An Elgin man has appeared in court accused of disturbing a pod of dolphins with his boat in the Lossiemouth area.
Bogdan Luca is accused of deliberately driving his boat through the group off the coast of Lossiemouth earlier this year.
The charge against the 42-year-old states he “did drive a boat at and over the pod dolphins causing them disturbance”.
Shetland police chase
A Fort William man who repeatedly drove at police vehicles during a nighttime car chase on Shetland has been jailed for 20 months.
Amir Abu-Al-Timen, 34, was also banned from driving for almost seven years after he appeared from custody at Lerwick Sheriff Court.
The HMP Grampian prisoner pleaded guilty to charges of threatening or abusive behaviour, dangerous driving and assaulting a police officer.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said he had never seen a similar case of dangerous driving in his entire legal career spanning more than 30 years.
Ex-Dons star was drink-driving
Former Aberdeen FC star Shay Logan has been banned from the roads after being caught behind the wheel while more than three times the drink-drive limit.
Logan, who left the Dons last year, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted driving his black Land Rover while under the influence and briefly losing control of the vehicle.
It was stated that the right-back – who made more the 250 appearances for the Pittodrie club – almost struck a kerb and had “slurred speech” when he was stopped by officers on June 20 last year.
Mum’s mouthwash lie
A mum caught drink-driving with a child in the car lied and told police officers she had just used mouthwash.
Sarah Evans gave the false information after being pulled over following an anonymous tip-off.
But the reality was that the 38-year-old had “had a couple of drinks” in Findhorn before jumping in her car.
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