Weekend court roll – a killer uncle and despicable twins

Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.

Watch: Dramatic moment police pin man to ground outside Aberdeen shopping centre

A man was pinned to the ground by police outside an Aberdeen shopping centre after punching his partner in the back of the head.

Thomas Elrick was seen grabbing and pulling the woman in Aberdeen city centre.

And when the 47-year-old lashed out firstly with a headbutt and then a punch, police became involved.

Elrick did not take kindly to the officers’ intervention, aiming a kick at one of them, and was swiftly taken to the ground in dramatic scenes caught on camera.

Man leaps from dock and runs out of courtroom

A man who was sentenced to a year in prison for assaulting a taxi driver leapt from the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and made a dramatic dash for freedom.

Peter John McCallum, 25, sprinted from the courtroom in the Mercatgate annex building at around 12.20pm today, hotly pursued by a police officer.

The dramatic scenes came as he appeared in the dock and admitted one charge of assaulting the taxi driver and a further charge of providing police with a false name.

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin had just delivered her sentence when the 25-year-old jumped out of the dock and ran from the courtroom.

Schoolboy downloaded child abuse content including vile video of baby

An Inverness schoolboy who downloaded child abuse images and videos for more than three years before being caught by the police has avoided jail.

Struan Nicol’s sick online activities were finally revealed by officers who raided his Inverness home on Friar’s Street.

They uncovered disturbing content – almost 90 indecent media files in total – that included a vile video featuring a six-month-old baby.

Nicol, now aged 19 years old, had started collecting the cache around the age of 14, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.

Former Aberdeen oil worker, 74, admits historic sex abuse of girls

A former oil and gas worker has been placed on the sex offenders register after he sexually abused two girls.

Pensioner Richard Mearns appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted abusing one teenage girl and another when she was as young as six.

His vile actions were only discovered when one of the girls confided in the other and it was revealed that the 74-year-old had sexually abused them both.

The court heard Mearns tried to brush off one of the sexual assaults by claiming he had been tickling the girl, while on another occasion he placed his hand inside the child’s underwear.

Uncle who stabbed nephew to death remanded to state hospital

A man knifed his nephew to death leaving him with 20 stab wounds.

Erlend Fraser attacked William Fraser at the 50-year-old’s home in St Margaret’s Hope on Orkney on June 19 2022.

A judge heard how the tragedy has devastated the 21-year-old’s parents and sisters.

Fraser had faced a murder allegation as he appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow.

Cruel thief stole children’s Christmas presents

A callous thief raided a Bridge of Don family home of children’s Christmas presents, designer clothes and jewellery worth £15,000.

Graeme Bain took advantage of the Bridge of Don property having had its windows broken in a separate incident and helped himself to the haul of loot just weeks before Christmas.

The cruel crimes were committed to fund 40-year-old’s crack cocaine addiction, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton said the man who lived at the property on Balgownie Road left around 8am on December 13 2020, locking the door but leaving the smashed windows as they were.

Migrant forced to work in Aberdeen cannabis factory

A migrant has been jailed after being forced to work in an Aberdeen cannabis factory to pay off debts to people traffickers.

Kujdesi Pashkaj was used as the “gardener” in the huge drug farm hidden inside a flat on Tedder Street in Aberdeen.

Officers initially forced entry to the address due to a water leak but discovered more than 100 cannabis plants worth up to £158,000.

Pashkaj, 29, was traced inside and swiftly arrested.

Spanish tourist in court after motorcyclist dies on A82 at Glencoe

A Spanish tourist has appeared in court charged with causing the death of a motorcyclist on the A82 at Glencoe.

Enrique Maffiote, 52, from Tenerife, had been released on police bail to attend Inverness Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

He made no plea to a charge of causing the death of 35-year-old Ross Dominick from Johnstone by careless driving around noon on Sunday July 23.

Emergency services raced to the scene of a crash at the Buachaille Etive Beag car park junction where a Mazda CX5 and a BMW motorbike had collided.

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Windfarm worker killed best friend in tragic crash

A windfarm worker killed his best friend when he drove his van out of a junction and into the path of an oncoming lorry.

Tomasz Aleksandruk, a Polish national, was looking in the wrong direction when he pulled onto the A9 in his Ford Transit with workmate Maik Balzat in the passenger seat.

The crash, at the junction of an unclassified road at Mains of Balavil, about a mile north of Kingussie, killed his 34-year-old friend instantly, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.

Aleksandruk, who is now living in Lehrte, Germany, admitted causing death by careless driving today.

No jail for sex offender who groomed boy and groped him under a blanket

A man who groomed a young teenager and went on to grope the boy under a blanket has been spared jail and told not to do it again.

Thomas Baird, 30, had previously been warned by Sheriff Gary Aitken that he faced a “custodial sentence of a considerable length”.

He’d pled guilty to a single charge of engaging in sexual activity with or towards a child while living at addresses in Alness and elsewhere between December 1 2018 and January 27 2020.

Fiscal depute Robert Weir told Inverness Sheriff Court that Baird’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had allowed him access to his Snapchat account.

Watch: Terrifying HGV crash caught on dashcam

The terrifying moment a lorry pulled out in front of a van at “one of the most challenging junctions in the north-east” has been captured on dashcam footage.

Douglas Knight was behind the wheel of the articulated lorry when it pulled out of the Drumlithie junction onto the A90 near Glenbervie.

But the 61-year-old mistimed the manoeuvre and left a van spinning out of control into the central reservation and into the lorry itself as it tried to avoid a collision.

The former haulage firm owner has been allowed to keep his licence after his solicitor argued the junction was “very bad” and that his client had “almost made it”.

Sneak thief stole woman’s iPhone as she slept inches away

A sneak thief ransacked a woman’s flat in Aberdeen and stole her phone off a bedside table – while she slept just inches away.

Dylan Davidson, 26, was described by his own solicitor as “not a master criminal”, as he admitted a string of late-night thefts.

The criminal – who was caught after selling his loot to Cash Converters under his own name – targeted properties while the owners were inside asleep, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the woman had taken the rubbish out at 1.30am on February 24, but failed to lock the door on returning inside.

Aspiring football coach jailed for savage attack on man feeding pigeons

An aspiring football coach has been locked up after savagely beating a man in Aberdeen city centre as he tried to feed the pigeons.

Andrew McInally, known as Morrice, set about his victim in St Nicholas Graveyard when he refused to hand over his straw hat to a teen girl.

Morrice, 27, along with another male, repeatedly punched the innocent man to the head, knocking him to the ground, and continued to kick him on the body and head, knocking several teeth out.

The attacker, who is taking on a football coaching course while in prison, has now been jailed for nine months over the brutal beating.

Drink-driver killed charity cyclist then buried body in woods

A drink-driver has admitted killing a charity cyclist and hiding his body in a grave.

Alexander McKellar ploughed into Tony Parsons in his Isuzu pick-up on the A82 road between Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum in Argyll and Bute on September 29, 2017.

Mr Parsons had travelled from his home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire to Fort William and was intending on returning south as part of a charity bike ride.

McKellar teamed up with his twin brother Robert to try and cover up his crime, which included burying the 63-year-old ex-Navy officer in nearby woods.

Police hunt sugar daddy blackmailer after court no-show

A woman who used dating sites to snare and extort married men is being hunted by police after failing to turn up at court.

Tiffany Anderson had been due to be sentenced at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after admitted her latest extortion offences.

But the 25-year-old, who also hadn’t complied with the preparation of court-ordered reports, didn’t turn up and Sheriff Margaret Hodge granted a warrant for her arrest.

Defence agent Alex Burn was left in a difficult position by his client and could do little to prevent the sheriff granting a warrant.

Aberdeen drug addict assaulted and robbed disabled man

An Aberdeen drug addict has dodged a prison sentence after beating and robbing a disabled man in his own home.

Ann-Marie Sutherland, 40, pounced on the 49-year-old victim as he returned to his flat with shopping.

Along with another woman, she knocked the man to the ground and robbed him of more than £200.

The attackers then fled the scene, leaving their vulnerable victim to pick himself up and contact the police.

Taxi firm owner caught behind wheel while swigging wine

The co-owner of a taxi firm has been banned from the road after being caught swigging wine behind the wheel.

Lynn Joss was nearly four times the legal alcohol limit when challenged by police in Banchory.

Officers had been tipped off after the 58-year-old was spotted decanting a bottle of white wine into a water bottle.

Joss lost her taxi licence as a result of the incident and has now also been banned from driving.

Trial date set for man accused of Skye shootings

A man is to stand trial charged with the murder of his brother-in-law in a shooting on Skye.

Finlay MacDonald is accused of shooting John MacKinnon, 47, at his home in the island’s Teangue last August 10.

The 40-year-old is separately charged with the attempted murder of his wife Rowena McDonald, 33, and two other people on the same day.

Prosecutors claim MacDonald killed dad-of-six Mr MacKinnon by repeatedly discharging a shotgun, striking him on the body.

Man handed unpaid work over sex act next to CCTV camera

A man has been ordered to carry out unpaid work after his involvement in a public sexual encounter directly underneath a CCTV camera.

Aivars Teikerts and Natalja Pavluka, both 36, snuck off to find a quiet spot to engage in a consensual display of affection on Carnegies Brae in Aberdeen, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

The lusty pair succeeded in finding a discreet location away from the prying eyes of members of the public but failed to spot the CCTV camera directly above them.

Both admitted charges of public indecency, with Pavluka, of Ronaldsay Square, Aberdeen, given 55 hours of unpaid work, while sentence was deferred on Teikerts for reports.

Russian businessman punched and kicked wife at Donald Trump resort

A holidaymaker was left screaming for help after being attacked by her drunken husband at Donald Trump’s Balmedie golf resort.

Russian businessman Ivrii Shapiro had been visiting Scotland with his partner while their child attended a summer camp.

The couple were staying at the MacLeod House and Lodge at Trump International Golf Resort when they got into a drunken row that turned violent.

Shapiro, 52, floored his wife with a punch to the head and followed up with a brutal kick to the ribs and she shouted for help.

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Inverness knifeman who was shot by police to remain in state hospital

A man who was shot to be brought under control having hurled petrol bombs at police is to remain in hospital.

Krzystof Andruczak turned on a team of officers who attended at his flat in Inverness on March 31 last year.

The 41-year-old – who was wearing a gas mask and was in camouflage clothes – was also armed with two knives and a metal chain.

The officers luckily escaped any serious harm, but Andruczak left a nearly £2 million repair bill due to the damage caused at the block of flats.

Aberdeen photographer accused  sexually assaulting schoolgirl

A photographer on trial over alleged sexual offences involving 13 females has been accused of getting a 17-year-old girl drunk and naked in a hotel room before sexually assaulting her.

Simon ‘Sid’ Scott is facing more than a dozen charges of sexual assaults and indecent behaviour against young women and an underage girl – with many of the women offered free photoshoots with the 44-year-old.

Scott, of Sunnyside Road, Aberdeen, denies all the charges against him.

Giving evidence on the third day of the trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, the woman – who was a secondary school pupil at the time – claimed the photographer arranged a “test shoot” at Glasgow’s Citizen M Hotel where he plied her with vodka and got her to take her clothes off.

‘Irate’ woman through stone through ex-partner’s window

An Invergordon woman who got drunk and threw a stone through her former partner’s window has admitted a vandalism charge at Inverness Sheriff Court.

Elaine Mackenzie, 36, was upset by her ex’s choice of company while in charge of their shared child, the court was told.

Mackenzie did not appear at the hearing and a guilty plea was entered in her absence by solicitor Liam Runciman.

Fiscal depute Shay Treanor told the court that the incident took place on the evening of May 14 of this year.

White Mazda driver was over the limit when he left the road

The driver of a white Mazda that came off the road at the Ardullie roundabout on the A9 was almost three times the drink-drive limit.

Robert Campbell had been drinking with friends and got behind the wheel when he received a distressed call from his partner about the sudden death of a family member.

His vehicle became something of a local landmark – and is now immortalised on Google Maps – due to the length of time it was left abandoned on the NC500 route, close to the Cromarty Bridge.

Campbell, 44, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of drink-driving in relation to the incident on February 16 of this year.

Man who left dog to starve to death guilty of animal cruelty

A man who left a dog to starve to death in an empty property has admitted his “incredible act of animal cruelty”.

The emaciated body of bull terrier, Duke, was discovered by cleaners who had been called to deal with an abandoned home in Nairn.

The animal was found lying next to a chewed sofa in an unheated room after Brian Farmer left the address.

Farmer, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit two charges under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006.

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