Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Teen knocked stranger to ground with one punch
A teenager with a history of violence who attacked a random man in the street has been warned the court is “running out of options” and custody might soon be the only place for him.
Donald Johnstone, 19, knocked the man to the ground with just one punch after the bystander tried to intervene and stop Johnstone’s tirade of abuse towards his then girlfriend’s mother.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told Elgin Sheriff Court that Johnstone had picked up his girlfriend from her home just after midnight on September 30 last year, but that the girl’s mother hadn’t been happy about this and decided to follow them.
Court orders man to donate to children’s charity over ‘excessive smacking’ assault
A sheriff has ordered a man to donate £300 to charity after he admitted assaulting a young child with “excessive smacking”.
Ross Strachan was handed the unusual requirement after appearing in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court over the matter.
The 24-year-old admitted a charge of assault to injury over the incident, which happened earlier this year.
Learner driver caught in car with no exhaust
A learner driver caught practising behind the wheel of a car with no exhaust put both himself and his uncle in danger as fumes poured into the vehicle.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, was spotted by police as he drove his silver Ford Fiesta through Elgin town centre missing one vital piece of equipment.
The lack of exhaust meant fumes from the vehicle would be going into the car instead of out its rear, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.
Five-times-the-limit drink-driver banned
A five-times-the-limit drink-driver who was spotted swerving on the A9 has been banned from the roads for 21 months.
Gordon Hearn, 66, left his indicator on for several miles drawing the attention of another motorist, who then saw him appear to swerve in the road.
Police tracked him down at his Inverness home and subsequent testing revealed his breath alcohol to be more than five times the legal limit
Five-year ban for disqualified driver
A disqualified driver who crashed while over the drink-drive limit has been banned from the roads for five years.
Daniel Steel’s car was the only vehicle involved in a collision on the A896 in Lochcarron on January 27.
When police arrived at the scene the 42-year-old admitted being under the influence of alcohol and further tests showed him to be more than four times the legal drink-drive limit.
He has also been previously banned from driving.
Drug-driver found ‘frothing at the mouth’
A drug-driver who drove on pavements and crashed into a wall has lost his hotel porter job and licence as a result.
Neil Bannerman, 41, was at the wheel while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, with Emma Paterson, 34, in the passenger seat.
The vehicle repeatedly mounted the pavement on Crown Street in Aberdeen and ploughed into a bollard and a wall.
Man ‘took offence’ at woman’s lack of underwear
A man who was giving a piggyback to a woman with no underwear on was punched after a passerby “took offence”.
Sean Donegan passed the pair on Union Street in the early hours of the morning and took issue with the woman’s lack of undergarments.
The 30-year-old told the woman she was “flashing” and when her friend, who was carrying her on his back, made a comment in response, Donegan became violent.
He punched the man to the head, leaving him “dizzy” and with a 2cm gash to his right temple.
Driver caught slumped in hire van due to cocktail of drugs
A man who was found slumped over the wheel of a rented van while high on drugs was also caught drink-driving in Aberdeen city centre.
Andrew Grant’s first run-in with police came after he was found slumped and sleepy in the front of a hire van in Aberdeen with no less than six different prescription drugs in his system.
He committed the second offence when he was spotted driving the wrong way up a one-way street and through two sets of red lights while more than three times the drink-drive limit.
Worker whose van was ‘reeking of cannabis’ is disqualified
A man whose works van was “reeking of cannabis” has been banned from the roads after he was found to be more than four times the limit.
David Smith, 39, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted being under the influence of cannabis while behind the wheel of his blue Ford Transit van.
It was stated that police saw the van being driven in an “erratic” manner and when they stopped the vehicle they noted that Smith had “glazed, bloodshot eyes”.
Man in dock over Aberdeen Harbour forklift joyride incident
A man has appeared in court accused of being in a restricted area of Aberdeen harbour without permission, taking a forklift truck and driving it towards a police car.
Daniel Smith did not enter a plea when he appeared from custody at Aberdeen Sheriff Court facing a string of charges over the incident, said to have taken place on Saturday.
Among the charges is an allegation under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
Suspected drink-driver found stumbling around takeaway
A suspected drink-driver was found staggering around a city centre takeaway before refusing to comply with a breath test.
William Cassidy was reported to police by a concerned security guard at an Aberdeen city centre nightspot, who saw him drive off in an apparently “intoxicated” state.
Officers made a search and discovered the 33-year-old within a nearby takeaway unsteady on his feet and smelling strongly of alcohol.
However, when officers tried to carry out a breath test, Cassidy did not cooperate.
Drug-driving dad was ‘in a hurry’ after receiving labour call
A dad-of-nine caught drug-driving was in a hurry because he had received a call about someone going into labour, a court has heard.
Gordon Wilson was stopped by police officers conducting safety checks and tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.
Wilson, 34, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted a single charge of drug-driving on Craig Road, Dingwall.
Aberdeen organised crime group dismantled by anti-drugs operation
Five people have been convicted for their roles in running an organised crime group’s drug dealing operation in Aberdeen.
They were targeted by Operation Dismantle, led by Police Scotland’s north-east Organised Crime Unit, in 2020.
The investigation focused on the criminal group that was involved in county lines drug dealing and organised crime.
Passenger who caused airline to do a £7,000 runway U-turn handed fine
An abusive passenger who forced a plane to turn around on an airport runway has been fined £3,055.
Jason Harris, 56, had to be escorted off the British Airways flight and went on to assault two police officers at the departures gate of Aberdeen International Airport.
The dad-of-two’s unruly actions caused a 70-minute delay to the flight – for which the airline was fined £7,000, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Man denies causing £3,000 damage by doing doughnuts on golf course
A man has denied causing around £3,000 of damage to an Aberdeen golf course by doing doughnuts on the green.
Muddy tyre tracks appeared on the Kings Links golf course over the weekend, appearing to be caused by a vehicle skidding in circles.
The damage, estimated to cost around £3,000 to repair, was to two of the fairways and rendered one green of the Sport Aberdeen course completely unplayable.
Drunk pubgoer found in his car claimed he was just ‘collecting belongings’
A pubgoer spied struggling to get into his Mini Cooper at 2am was caught with the engine running whilst more than three times the legal limit.
Tomahawk McGinn claimed he’d just gone to his car to collect a friend’s belongings – although when police found him the headlights were on, the engine was running and he was wearing a seatbelt, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Kate Scarborough said McGinn, 33, was caught at 1.50am on April 2 this year after uniformed officers on mobile patrol saw him staggering towards a blue car on Hadden Street in Aberdeen.
Hotel guest ‘charged’ at receptionist investigating noise complaint
An enraged hotel guest charged at a receptionist investigating a noise complaint from a visitor in the next room.
Scott Paterson was staying at the Premier Inn on the Ellon Road when a guest in the neighbouring room took issue with the noise he was making.
A complaint was made to staff and the hotel’s receptionist went to investigate.
Man told officer ‘go back to your country’ then assaulted him
A man told a policeman “Go back to your country” then assaulted him before spitting in another officer’s face.
Police had been called after Darren Kennedy tried to fight a man who had asked him to keep the noise down while he was visiting a friend.
Kennedy, 29, made the racist comment during a journey to the police station and on arrival told the officer: “You’re Polish you probably don’t understand.”
Hotel guest ‘charged’ at receptionist investigating noise complaint
An enraged hotel guest charged at a receptionist investigating a noise complaint from a visitor in the next room.
Scott Paterson was staying at the Premier Inn on the Ellon Road when a guest in the neighbouring room took issue with the noise he was making.
A complaint was made to staff and the hotel’s receptionist went to investigate.
Handgun, bullets and silencer delivered to Aberdeen man’s home
An Aberdeen man is behind bars today after US security officials found a handgun, bullets and a silencer hidden in a jukebox.
Robin Baxter agreed to store the firearm for a mystery person he met on the dark web.
The Glock handgun and bullets were to be delivered to his home in Pentland Crescent, Aberdeen.
Man admits threatening woman he blamed for his dad’s death
A grieving son who vented his frustration at the woman he blamed for his father’s death has been convicted of threatening behaviour.
The woman hid in a cupboard after hearing Declan McPhee, 24, shouting “you murdered my father” from her garden.
He also shouted that the woman “gave him methadone and killed him”, a court has heard.
‘I will knock yous out’
A hotel worker who was denied entry to an Aberdeen nightspot for being too drunk turned on police officers, telling them: “I’ll knock yous out.”
Fennick Deans was reported to police after he was stopped by doormen from entering Prohibition nightclub due to his level of intoxication.
When police officers arrived on the scene, the 22-year-old started hurling threats at the constables.
Ice-skating coach caught driving Tesla after taking cocaine
An ice-skating coach has been banned from the road after being caught driving his Tesla while under the influence of cocaine.
Daniel Manson was pulled over by police in the early hours of the morning in Aberdeen city centre after the officers smelled cannabis.
The 35-year-old was detained for a search but did not have anything on him.
Drink-driver ‘thought she was fine’ to get behind wheel
A woman who had been drinking during the day with friends was still more than double the limit when she got behind the wheel at 1am the next day.
Danielle Downie was spotted by police officers just before driving her silver Mini on icy roads with no headlights on.
They saw the 25-year-old accelerating harshly through Macduff in the freezing conditions of January 3 this year and called for other crews to trace her vehicle, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
Police make hair-raising discovery as woman hides cocaine under wig
A woman has been handed unpaid work after stashing hundreds of pounds of cocaine under her wig.
Miamuna Touray, 38, utilised the unusual hiding place in a “moment of madness” as police burst into the Aberdeen flat executing a drug search warrant.
But she was quickly foiled when officers took her back to the station for a full search.
Woman ordered to pay £150 to baby after dog attack
A woman has been ordered to pay her friend’s baby £150 after her American Akita attacked it.
Katarzyna Kulaszewska had been out for a stroll with her friend and their children and pet dogs at Tillydrone Community Centre when the incident happened.
Her friend’s one-year-old daughter, attempting to walk, stumbled into the sizeable animal, named Dexter, which responded by biting and latching onto the baby.
The child was left with bruising and two puncture wounds following the attack.
Oil worker used vile racist slur against doorman
A man who was escorted from the door of an Aberdeen nightclub used the n-word against the bouncer who had denied him entry, a court has heard.
Oil and gas worker David Edwards appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted using the vile racist slur against a doorman at ATIK nightclub in the centre of the city.
It was stated that following the incident the bouncer was left “offended” and “embarrassed” by Edwards’ bigoted remark.
The 22-year-old’s solicitor told the court that his client “doesn’t consider himself a racist”.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group.