Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Speeder caught doing 100mph on B road
A driver caught doing 100mph on a Black Isle road has been banned.
Owen MacDonald, 22, was handed a six-month disqualification along with a fine after he admitted careless driving at Inverness Sheriff Court.
The charge came after police clocked MacDonald travelling at 40mph over the speed limit on the B9173 near Findon, close to its junction with the A9.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood said MacDonald was stopped by police officers on March 1 last year, after their detection equipment captured the car he was driving travelling at 100mph on a road where the speed limit was 60mph.
Drink-driver crashed into road sign while racing
A drink-driver wrecked his car while racing another driver on the way to his friend’s house, a court has heard.
Andrew Edwards appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted getting behind the wheel of his car while nearly four times the drink-drive limit.
The 23-year-old was seen racing another vehicle before ploughing into a road sign on Wapping Street, Aberdeen.
Couple found ‘foaming at mouth’ after car mounts pavement
A man who drove on pavements and crashed into a wall was found “foaming at the mouth” by police.
Neil Bannerman, 41, was at the wheel while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, with Emma Paterson in the passenger seat.
The vehicle repeatedly mounted the pavement on Crown Street in Aberdeen and ploughed into a bollard and a wall.
Paedophile avoids prison despite being caught for second time
An Aberdeenshire paedophile was caught with even more child abuse images while still waiting to be sentenced for the first haul.
Daniel McGladrigan already had a previous conviction from 2021 after being found in possession of 600 indecent images of children and nine hours of sickening footage hidden in encrypted files.
The 22-year-old’s first offence led to him being monitored by the sexual offender policing unit.
Teenager set fire to BMW
A teenager completely destroyed a BMW after setting fire to the car in a residential area, a court has been told.
Dylan Flett targeted the white vehicle, parked at Kincorth Circle in Aberdeen, on December 22 2019.
But the 21-year-old was caught by police after he left a petrol can behind and its purchase was later traced to him using CCTV camera evidence.
Flett was encouraged to commit the crime by his older and already sentenced co-accused Corey Gibb.
Driver drank to pass the time after becoming stranded in the snow
A snow-stricken driver who drank alcohol while he waited for help was reported to police by the good Samaritan who offered to tow him.
Patrick Walsh was heading for his partner’s dad’s 60th birthday party when his van became stranded in a layby on the A832, near Kinlochewe.
The 40-year-old decided to crack open alcohol and drank it to pass the time as he waited for assistance.
After a two-hour wait, a trucker stopped and offered to tow Walsh, which he accepted.
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Paedophile pensioner caught with over 100 child images avoids prison
A paedophile pensioner has avoided a prison sentence despite being caught with more than 100 indecent images and videos of children he downloaded from online chatrooms.
Marek Rosiak was caught after the National Child Abuse Inquiry received intelligence that indecent images of children had been uploaded from his address.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard police found Rosiak with more than 100 vile sexual images of underage youngsters on a tablet in his home in Turriff.
Dealer who flung £5,000 drugs from window during raid
A dealer who flung Class A drugs out a living room window during a Peterhead drugs bust has been given a “glimmer of hope” he will be spared jail if he shows willingness to address his addiction issues.
Stuart Mitchell panicked when police raided his female friend’s Crossfolds Crescent home to execute an early-morning drugs search warrant and threw cocaine and heroin worth around £5,000 into the back garden.
And although the 40-year-old has served jail time before, and has been held in prison since the raid, he’s been freed for now and given one final chance to prove he’s ready to turn his life around.
Man in dock after train threats to partner
Train passengers called police after hearing an offshore worker’s threat to his partner during their journey.
Lewis Taylor told the woman: “Just wait till we get home” as the pair argued on board a service between Edinburgh and Inverness.
Such was his demeanour that other travellers in the carriage became uncomfortable, with one even standing up to intervene between the pair.
BMW driver clocked at nearly 150mph because he was running late
A driver with the middle name Quick has been caught speeding at 149mph on the A90.
Andrew Quick Ritchie claimed he was doing the dangerously high speed – an astonishing 89mph above the limit – because he was running late for work.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that traffic officers attempted to give chase along the A90 near Ellon but had to abandon the pursuit of Ritchie’s black BMW due to safety concerns.
Inmate headbutted prison guard
An inmate at HMP Grampian headbutted a prison guard in a fit of rage after being told he wasn’t allowed to go to the gym.
Martyn Fitzsimmons lost his temper when his name wasn’t on a list of prisoners to use the fitness facilities one morning.
After threatening to torch one guard’s car, the 42-year-old branded another a “fat ride” before headbutting him to the chin.
‘Controlling and dangerous’ serial rapist jailed
A serial rapist has been jailed for 15 years for attacking and abusing six females.
Francis Sanderson, who’s also known by the surname Campbell, carried out multiple rapes and sexual assaults over a 13-year period in Moray and the Highlands.
The 29-year-old was found guilty of a catalogue of violent and sexual offences on vulnerable females he befriended.
Thief drove into delivery man after stealing van full of parcels
A serial thief who targeted delivery drivers and stole vans full of parcels has been locked up after ploughing into a courier.
Alexander McDonald stole delivery vans from Holburn Street and Union Terrace, on one occasion accelerating into the delivery man and carrying him on the bonnet for a short time.
The brave delivery driver, despite being injured, gave chase but could not keep up as McDonald, 42, sped away.
Man jailed for beating friend unconscious with a bar stool
A man who beat his friend unconscious with a bar stool and left him bleeding on the ground has been jailed.
Michael Davidson was drunk when he got into a bar fight with the man at the Commercial Hotel in Keith.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told a “red mist descended” when Davidson was bitten by his victim and he launched the brutal attack.
Canadian smuggled £295,000 of cannabis into Aberdeen airport
A Canadian man who was caught flying into Aberdeen Airport with almost 33kg of cannabis in his suitcases has been jailed.
Pawlo Albanskyj, 29, from Mississauga near Toronto, was stopped by Border Force officers as he arrived on a flight from Toronto via Amsterdam.
He had been due to fly to Birmingham but was re-routed to Aberdeen, following flight delays.
10mph driver was slurring and smelling of alcohol
A slurring driver seen weaving around a McDonald’s car park and suspected of being under the influence had £1,500 worth of ketamine in the car.
Reeve Smart appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted to driving erratically at a number of locations across Inverurie at 10mph.
When police removed the 21-year-old from his vehicle they found he was slurring his words and smelling of alcohol.
They also discovered 75 grams of ketamine in his possession.
Pair hid cocaine inside their bodies
A pair who hid thousands of pounds worth of cocaine inside their own bodies have been warned they could be jailed.
Police searched Calum Findlay, 55, and Carol Knox, 63, after smelling cannabis from their car when it was stopped on the A9.
Back at the police station, both admitted to officers that they had drugs concealed internally.
Cocaine with a value of £10,500 was later recovered from them.
Mum brands sentence for serial abuser ‘a disgrace’
A woman who was violently assaulted in a car park while pregnant has branded a sheriff’s decision to hand her abuser unpaid work an “insult to every domestic abuse victim”.
Serial domestic abuser Sammy Stewart was found guilty following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of assaulting Lynette Sangster by choking her on two occasions in 2017.
He also grabbed her hair and tried to pull her out of a car while she was heavily pregnant.
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Teen recorded sex with 15-year-old girl and put it on Snapchat
A teenager recorded himself having sex with a 15-year-old girl and then uploaded it to Snapchat, a court has heard.
Stuart Gerrard, 18, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted to recording the girl while having consensual sex last year.
His victim only found out the audio recording was on social media when Gerrard told her: “I can ruin your life with one video”.
Death of female prisoner ruled ‘unavoidable’
A prisoner found dead in her cell at HMP Grampian hours after a court appearance had been suffering from heart disease, an inquiry has found.
Tracey Aird was found unresponsive in her Peterhead jail cell just hours after she had appeared virtually for a court hearing.
But after the 47-year-old was found unconscious on the floor, on July 27 2021, prison officers were unable to save her.
Frustrated farmer verbally abused government official
A farmer has admitted threatening behaviour after calling a government worker a “little p****”
Christopher Barclay had become frustrated with the slow progress of his grant funding application when he made a call to the Scottish Government Agricultural Office.
His solicitor told the court that Barclay “lost his sense of decorum” when leaving a voicemail after “significant delays” in claiming for work he had already completed.
Justice for James
A brutal thug who repeatedly beat and stabbed a frail 75-year-old during a terrifying home invasion has been told to expect a lengthy prison sentence.
Miguel Meyler inflicted horrific injuries on former soldier James Clunes before frog-marching him to a cash machine to try to rob him of more cash.
The 29-year-old sat emotionless in the dock as the details of the prolonged attack were read out at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The assault was described by Sheriff Philip Mann as a “horrific crime”.
Domestic abuser targeted two different partners
A man who abused the mother of his children and then did the same to his new partner has been ordered to take part in a programme for domestic abusers.
Jordan MacDonald, 24, split from his girlfriend of four years after a month-long campaign of abusive behaviour before moving on to a new victim.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told he sent the first woman repeated messages calling her a “slag”, wrote abusive messages on her bedroom wall, seized hold of her hair and locked her in and out of the house.
Thief smashed way into caravan and fell asleep
A boozy thief broke into a caravan, ransacked it and then fell asleep inside after missing his bus home.
Graham Milne had been out drinking with family to mark what would have been the birthday of his brother, who had passed away earlier that year.
But Milne became intoxicated and became separated from his family then missed his bus home.
Drunk man admits assaulting pregnant partner
A man assaulted his pregnant partner after returning home drunk in the early hours of the morning.
Kevin MacGillivray, 41, pushed the woman, causing her to strike a wall after she tried to talk to him.
He later broke a police condition to stay away from her by returning to their home because he was locked out of his alternative address and “had nowhere else to go”.
Kevin MacGillivray admitted a charge of assaulting the woman at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Intruder too drunk to remember kicking in woman’s door
An intruder who kicked down the door of a terrified woman’s home and demanded money was so drunk at the time that he can’t remember doing it.
Wayne Thomson caused an estimated £1,000 worth of damage after arriving at his victim’s home and declaring “this is my house” and “you have my money”.
The 44-year-old appeared at the property on Greenburn Road at 11am on January 22 this year, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Aberdeen man accused of stabbing his own father to death
An Aberdeen man is accused of stabbing his dad to death before putting a knife in his hand.
Lewis Webster, 22, allegedly murdered Michael Webster at a property in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, on January 27 2022.
Prosecutors claim Webster, of Aberdeen, assaulted his father by repeatedly striking him on the head and neck with knives.
Hotel boss resigns after punching porter in drunken attack
A night porter at an Aberdeen city centre hotel was repeatedly punched by his off-duty boss during a drunken attack.
Mihails Hodzajevs had been drinking in the Jury’s Inn hotel at Guild Square while he was off-shift when he got into an altercation with the porter.
Hodzajevs, 34, repeatedly asked the man if he was doing his job properly, then followed him through a door and assaulted him.
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