Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Dad fled house after cocaine-fueled son pulled two kitchen knives on him
A man has avoided a prison sentence after he terrified his 76-year-old dad by pulling two large kitchen knives on him.
Mark Murray appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted threatening the pensioner.
The 48-year-old had been drinking, but was also on cocaine, and pulled out two black-handled kitchen knives from a drawer.
Murray’s father managed to escape by hitting his son on the head and fleeing the property.
Man’s drunken 3am bid to win back ex goes spectacularly wrong
A jilted lover smashed a window and was found inside his ex’s house after a late-night, drunken bid to win her back went spectacularly wrong.
Charles Hanratty, 33, spent the last of his money on a 3am taxi from Aberdeen to Westhill to go to visit his ex-girlfriend – but she wasn’t home.
After loudly banging on doors and windows to try and wake her up, Hanratty struck the kitchen window which, due to already having been cracked, shattered.
When there was still no movement inside, the penny dropped that his former lover was not home.
North-east sex offender jailed over historic sex offences on teenage girls
A paedophile jailed for historic sexual abuse dating back to the 1980s has been branded a “vile monster” by the family of one of his victims.
John Ritchie was snared when one young girl recorded the abuse on her mobile phone and alerted police.
That prompted an investigation that saw victims come forward and accuse the 65-year-old of sexually assaulting them when they were children.
Controlling cop threatened to ‘ruin’ boyfriend with false allegations
A controlling and abusive police officer threatened to make false allegations against her policeman boyfriend and “ruin” him if he ever tried to leave her, a court has been told.
Emma Willmott followed through on her threats and reported her partner to colleagues, who, after thorough investigations, never charged him with any crime.
Willmott says she now intends to resign from Police Scotland after she appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted a domestic abuse charge.
Fraserburgh man admits grooming teen in police sting operation
A Fraserburgh man had admitted grooming a child for sex after being snared by a police officer posing as a teenage girl.
David Buchan, 58, appeared in Peterhead Sheriff Court to admit two sex offences carried out last year.
Buchan sat in the dock as his defence counsel, Sam Milligan offered his guilty plea.
Liverpool men avoid jail after leaving £17,000 drugs jar on Broch bus
Two Liverpool men have admitted drug dealing after a jar containing £17,000 of crack and heroin accidentally rolled down the aisle of a bus they were travelling on.
Daniel Glennon, 23, and James O’Keefe, 22, were caught after the bus driver raised the alarm on finding the container filled with Class A drugs.
Fiscal depute Ruairidh McAlister told Peterhead Sheriff Court said the bus driver suspected the jar, which was concealed within an Iceland shopping bag, contained drugs and alerted police.
Pair jailed after £1 million of cannabis found in Aberdeen
Two men were held after almost £1m of cannabis was found at an industrial cleaning firm in Aberdeen.
Steven Clark, 41, has now been jailed for three and a half years at the High Court in Glasgow with accomplice Sean Imlach, 53, sentenced to three years and nine months.
Police raided the warehouse of Aberdeen Blast Cleaning Services in East Tullos Industrial Estate’s Hillview Road on February 12 2022.
Detectives discovered a number of boxes at the site filled with 56kg of the class B drug.
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Drug runner dubbed the ‘Deliveroo of cannabis cookies’
A drug runner dubbed “the Deliveroo of cannabis cookies” has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Paul Jessiman was caught parked up in Brickfield Court, Stonehaven, with various packages of cannabis and tubs of brownies containing the class B drug.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 25-year-old had been paid by a friend to deliver the drugs.
Fiscal depute Claire Stewart said the incident happened around 8.30pm on January 30.
Foster mum rubbed boy’s face in urine and forced girl to eat vomit
A “horrible” foster mum who forced one girl to eat vomit and poured soap down her mouth also rubbed a boy’s face in urine-soaked bedding during two decades of shocking child abuse.
Sandra Harper hit kids in her care, also shouting and swearing at them – calling them “little b******s, little pigs, little tinks” and referring to one of them as a “spastic” and a “poof”.
The 63-year-old told Peterhead Sheriff Court that “sometimes it was reprimanding them and sometimes it was in banter”, explaining: “It was like saying God bless you, to me.
Wanted man knocked out police officer with whisky bottle
A wanted man knocked out a police officer who found him hiding in a cupboard.
Connor Mackay, 23, used a bottle of whisky to hit the policeman so hard in the face that one of his victim’s front teeth was pushed backwards.
The impact knocked the officer momentarily unconscious and left him bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Two men in court after Crimond firearms incident
Two men have appeared in court following a firearms incident involving war memorabilia.
Richard Robinson, 38, and Callum Williamson, 21, were arrested after police were called to Logie Road in Crimond on Sunday.
The incident – which The Press and Journal understands involves an antique weapon – has seen extensive searches centring in and around a house, which is yards from the local primary school.
Offshore worker lost job after being caught growing cannabis
An offshore worker who lost his job after growing his own cannabis has been admonished in the hope that it helps him get back into employment.
Ross Walton set up two growing tents in his home near Alford, after deciding to self-medicate for various ailments by growing his own cannabis plants.
The 32-year-old grew six plants, worth up to £5,000, after learning how to cultivate cannabis online.
Drug-dealing dad caught with Kinder Eggs stuffed with cocaine and heroin
A drug-dealing dad was caught with Kinder Eggs stuffed with cocaine and heroin after police spotted him wearing a balaclava.
Daryl Main drew the attention of police when they spotted his distinctive attire as he left a property in Aberdeen on an electric bike.
Officers tailed him to Lidl on the Lang Stracht where he handed another man a package in exchange for cash.
Police swooped and found Main, 32, with Kinder Eggs loaded with cocaine and heroin worth £350.
Highland League footballer in dock after lying to police about car crash
A Highland League footballer has been blasted after crashing his car, fleeing the scene and then reporting the vehicle stolen.
Gavin Elphinstone saw his lies begin to unravel when his DNA was found on the airbag of the crashed silver Ford Focus.
The 30-year-old had collided with a parked vehicle on Fonthill Road, Aberdeen, overnight between July 30 and 31 last year, before fleeing the scene.
Sex offender with sick images broke order to stay away from under 17s
A sex offender caught with indecent images of children also broke a court order preventing him from having unsupervised contact with under 17s.
Jake Driver’s mobile phone, which was seized during a police search, contained images of girls aged between 3 and 12.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that he had also flouted a bail condition requiring that he not have unsupervised conduct with under 17s by being discovered in the company of a 16-year-old girl.
Car delivery driver’s whisky-fuelled rammy in Aberdeen bar
A car delivery driver has been fined after a whisky-fuelled rammy with police and door staff at Krakatoa in Aberdeen.
Andrew Waddell had been in the Granite City for work and decided to spend the night and head out for a few drinks.
But the night took a turn for the worse when the 57-year-old started drinking whisky – the last thing he remembers from the evening.
‘You caught me’: Aberdeen drink-driver holds hands up after ‘fair cop’
A drink-driver pulled over by police in the early hours of the morning held his hands in the air and said: “You caught me”.
Neil McCulloch was almost four times the alcohol limit when he struggled to get a taxi home after a night out and opted to drive instead.
But he quickly drew the attention of police officers who stopped him on North Esplanade West in the city centre of Aberdeen.
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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.
Domestic abuser pleads guilty to murder of Aberdeen woman
A murderer who bludgeoned his on-off partner to death in a savage attack told her family that “she deserved it” as they pinned him to the ground.
Christopher Cook, 44, of no fixed abode, viciously attacked Jacqueline Kerr in her Sunnyside Road home in Aberdeen on January 15 this year.
The 54-year-old, who had been in an “on/off relationship” with the domestic abuser ever since they met between February and March last year, died from head and neck injuries.
Sheriff says spitting at police officers is ‘ongoing problem’
A sheriff has called spitting at officers an “ongoing problem” and said courts won’t hesitate to impose custodial sentences as she jailed one offender for 10 months.
Samuel Bliss had been arrested after becoming aggressive towards an officer who was trying to deal with an injured man in the street.
The 29-year-old had to be restrained by an officer at the scene and then spat on a policeman in a cell at Elgin police station.
Drink-driver had live chickens in passenger footwell of Skoda
A drink-driving Turriff woman who crashed her car into tractor had several “unsecured” live chickens in the passenger footwell.
Mandy Brayne admitted being more than three times the limit when she appeared at Banff Sheriff Court.
The unemployed 64-year-old had been driving her blue Skoda on the B992 between Kingsford and Gask on 4 September this year.
Man who choked hotel manager unconscious spared jail
A man who choked a hotel manager until he was unconscious and then assaulted officers dealing with the incident has been spared jail.
Dean Allan grabbed the hotel worker by the neck during a drunken dispute and refused to let go until the man fell unconscious.
When police arrested him he kicked one constable on the body and grabbed a second by the throat.
Care worker stole more than £2,000 from vulnerable elderly woman
A heartless care worker helped herself to thousands of pounds from the bank account of a vulnerable elderly resident at an Inverurie assisted living facility.
Rachael Michie took advantage of her position of trust while working as a relief worker for Inspire at Hollybank, St James’ Place, Inverurie.
As part of her role, the 31-year-old helped to look after a woman in her 60s, who suffered from learning disabilities and needed round-the-clock care.
Predatory photographer jailed for sex attacks on young models
A predatory Aberdeen photographer who sexually assaulted young models was today jailed for 20 months.
Simon ‘Sid’ Scott was found guilty of a catalogue of sexual assault and indecent behaviour charges involving young women after a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in August.
A jury of nine women and six men took around six hours to find the 44-year-old guilty of five sexual assaults. They returned not proven verdicts on the remaining seven charges.
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