Weekend court roll – a schoolboy accused of murder and a health board in the dock

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

Inverness thief raided three hotels on way home from prison

A “despicable” Inverness thief who raided three Perthshire hotels on his way home from prison is now back behind bars.

Rory Mackay swiped a charity tin and a range of electronic devices during a drug-fuelled stealing spree in Dunkeld and Birnam.

The 45-year-old had been heading to Inverness after being freed from HMP Barlinnie following his 101st conviction for theft.

Mackay appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted stealing from the Atholl Arms, Royal Dunkeld and Birnam Hotels on September 15 last year.

Furious Argos customer threw broken coffee machine at manager

A furious Argos customer launched a broken coffee machine at a manager when she wasn’t allowed to return it without a receipt.

The red mist descended for Debbie Newlands when her coffee machine broke and staff at Argos in Berryden refused to take it back.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Newlands, 54, asked to speak to the manager who, after a quarter of an hour of trying to resolve things, turned and walked away.

And it was at that point that the unhappy customer picked up the plastic and glass percolator and threw it at the woman.

Man punched wife in face in row over microwave meal

A man has appeared in court after punching his wife in the face during an argument about a microwave meal.

Alexander McKenzie lashed out violently as the couple rowed in the family home in Aberdeen.

The 49-year-old struck his partner of 29 years just below her eye with a clenched first during the fiery fallout.

Shocked by the attack, the woman rushed outside to flag down a passing police car and McKenzie has now appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Man lambasted by sheriff after he told woman ‘I hope you get raped’

A man has narrowly avoided going to jail after he verbally abused a young woman and told her he “hoped she got raped”.

Imran Ali, 20, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted making the vile threats to a woman he was dating through text and voicemail messages after the couple had fallen out during a night on the town.

It was stated that Ali then returned to the woman’s hotel the following morning to continue his dreadful verbal tirade.

Ali described the frightened young woman as “a slut”, “a slag” and told her he “hoped she’d get raped”.

Prisoner jailed after he punched man in cells because he thought he was a paedophile

A prisoner has had time added to his sentence for punching a cellmate who he had become convinced was a sex offender.

Rhyan Potts, 28, admitted assaulting the man as they both waited in the downstairs cells before appearing in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

The court heard that Potts turned and asked the man what he was up for and when he replied that the police had caught him with a phone, Potts became enraged.

Potts, who has previous convictions for violence, loudly declared the man was “a nonce” before repeatedly assaulting him.

Dufftown man ordered to pay compensation to police officer he injured in line of duty

A Dufftown man has been ordered to pay compensation to a police officer after injuring him whilst resisting arrest “tooled up” with a poker.

Officers had been called to Marley Atkins’ home address in Dufftown after receiving reports from a third party with concerns for his health.

Fiscal depute Karen Poke said officers arrived at Atkins’ address at around 8.10pm on October 24 last year and left him in the care of paramedics.

However, ambulance staff then called for assistance later that night, the court heard, as Atkins was refusing to go to hospital.

Aberdeen rapist caught with £1.5m of cocaine on A90 near Dundee

A convicted Aberdeen rapist has admitted being caught with £1.5 million of cocaine.

Tom Farquhar, 28, was stopped in a blue Audi S3 on the A90 near Dundee last September 1.

Police had got a tip-off that drugs were being transported and found the haul in taped packages in a supermarket bag for life.

Prosecutor David Dickson told the High Court in Glasgow: “All appeared to be symmetrical in size and weight.”

Teen driver’s social media boast moments after injuring friends in 112mph horror crash

A young driver has been spared jail after causing a 112mph horror crash which injured herself and three friends.

One of Jenna Burton’s passengers screamed “I’m going to die” in the moments before the serious smash near Mintlaw, Peterhead Sheriff Court was told.

Burton hit a verge with such force that it flipped the car and propelled the engine 50ft away into a field.

All three passengers were injured and one, who was 17 at the time, was hospitalised for nine days and required surgery for internal bleeding.

Delivery driver who terrorised Inverness motorist jailed for 28 months

A drink-driver who terrorised an Inverness motorist after mistaking her for his wife in Poland has been jailed for 28 months.

Slawomir Stiller drove his van on the wrong side of the A9 and even rammed the terrified woman’s car in an incident Sheriff Sara Matheson described as “one of the worst courses of driving coupled with abusive conduct that I can recall”.

Other drivers were forced to swap lanes to avoid Stiller’s van as he mounted verges and drove straight at them, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.

The 49-year-old – who was six-times the drink-driving limit – was shouting about “his wife” as he targeted a female driver, who made distressed calls to her own husband and police during the disturbing incident.

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Pensioner warned he could face prison after unprovoked attack on female police officers

A pensioner who tried to attack two female police officers has been warned he could face prison over the offences.

Robert Dunlop appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted trying to assault the pair as they responded to a matter unconnected to the 66-year-old.

Upon being arrested, Dunlop shouted vile and derogatory terms towards the women.

Dunlop, who has a long record of previous convictions, then proceeded to repeatedly kick the cage of the police van as he was driven off to custody.

Learner driver handed fine and points after admitting £16,000 Turriff smash

A learner driver has been fined and handed penalty points after smashing into a van and causing £16,500 worth of damage.

Ibrahim Majid Salih, 22, had been driving through Turriff under the supervision of his girlfriend when the crash happened on June 10.

Banff Sheriff Court heard Salih had been getting petrol and was driving along Queens Road near to Turriff Swimming Pool when he veered onto the oncoming lane.

A van driver, who was coming to other way, could do nothing to avoid colliding with Salih’s white VW Golf, the court was told.

‘High risk’ Inverness paedophile offered 13-year-old boy hundreds of pounds for pictures and a sex act

A paedophile who was banned from approaching young boys defied the court order when he offered to pay a 13-year-old hundreds of pounds for sexually explicit pictures.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told that 29-year-old Iain Wright tried to groom the teenage boy and was willing to pay him to carry out a sex act.

Wright, who was in homeless accommodation in Inverness at the time, has now been jailed for a total of 24 months by Sheriff Sara Matheson, who described him as “a high risk”.

She backdated the sentence to the date of remand which was February 12.

Aberdeen drink-driver banned after he smashed into traffic lights

A drink-driver has been banned from the roads after he drove at breakneck speed and crashed into a set of traffic lights.

Dillon Thomson almost caused a head-on collision when he chose to get behind the wheel rather than call a taxi following a night out in Aberdeen.

The 22-year-old’s car was seen driving at excessive speed before Thomson lost control and almost crashed into another vehicle.

Thomson then ploughed his car into a set of traffic lights, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

ETZ proposal for Aberdeen park moving forward after campaigners lose Court of Session appeal

Plans for Aberdeen’s first Energy Transition Zone are back on the table after Scotland’s highest court today ruled that the city council did not act unlawfully over the proposals for a popular community park.

Publishing his ruling from the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Douglas Fairley refused the petition from Friends of St Fittick’s Park which argued the local authority failed its legal duty to perform equality impact assessments.

The park, in Torry, is the site of a proposed ETZ, an industrial hub tailored to support the transition to green energy.

Campaigners argued the council did not discharge its responsibilities as a “listed authority” under the Equalities Act, with lawyers acting on behalf of campaigners stating that a full council meeting on September 11 2023, where the proposals were discussed, triggered this clause.

Peterhead man jailed for bloody attacks on takeaway worker and police officers

A Peterhead man has been jailed for spitting blood at police officers and breaking a pizza takeaway worker’s nose after ignoring “every chance” given by a court to remain in the community.

Peter McGregor, 42, eventually appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court, turning up late and narrowly avoiding an arrest warrant.

Once in the dock, McGregor admitted the assault on a worker at La Casa pizzeria in Fraserburgh last January 6 and two further assaults on police officers in the early hours of January 7.

Fiscal Jennifer Pritchard told the court McGregor had gone to the food outlet at around 11.40pm placing an order for food.

Pub customer spared jail after attack that broke victim’s thigh

A man who shoved a pub customer to the ground and broke his thigh has avoided jail after a court was told he’s “not a well man”.

Andrew Fisher appeared to be goading a man into a fight outside the Argyll Hotel in Ullapool when a second person stepped in to defuse the situation.

In response to that, Fisher pushed him over and caused the devastating injury, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.

Fiscal depute Emily Hood previously told the court the assault happened at around 1am on August 15 2022 and Fisher, 38, had removed his jacket in an attempt to get a man to fight.

Liverpool dealer jailed after cocaine found in Fraserburgh

A Liverpool drug dealer has been jailed after being caught with cocaine in Fraserburgh.

Joseph Lowe appeared from custody at Peterhead Sheriff Court to be sentenced for the single charge of drugs supply, relating to cocaine with a street value of almost £5,000.

The 36-year-old has been on remand since being arrested on April 24, following a police swoop on a property in Fraserburgh.

Lowe claimed he had appropriated the drugs as an act of defiance against bullying dealers.

‘Absent-minded’ disqualified driver forgot he was banned – then crashed

An “absent-minded” disqualified driver who claims he had forgotten he was banned crashed into a field while driving to the shops.

Kenneth Johnson had been disqualified from driving after being found guilty of being in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol following a trial.

The ban was imposed on an interim basis at Aberdeen Sheriff Court while sentence was deferred.

But just three weeks later, the 69-year-old was heading out for some groceries and “absent-mindedly picked up the keys” and drove.

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Elgin army veteran dressed up in women’s clothes after horrifying attack on wife

An Army veteran dressed up in a black mini skirt and ballerina shoes after brutally attacking his wife in her bed.

Samuel Cree burst into his wife’s bedroom wearing a pink bra and started punching her face and even wrenched out one of her teeth, a court heard.

After halting his terrifying assault and going downstairs, Cree, 53, made a cup of tea and dressed himself in women’s clothes before awaiting the arrival of military personnel.

Cree’s violent and bizarre behaviour was described during his trial at Inverness Sheriff Court.

Paedophile snared by vigilantes after sickening messages to ‘child’

A paedophile sent what he thought was a 12-year-old girl pornographic images and told her: “If I was your dad I’d tuck you in every night.”

Cameron MacKinnon was snared by a vigilante paedophile hunter group, who set up an online profile posing as a young girl.

The 64-year-old contacted the “child” and made highly inappropriate sexual comments and asked intimate questions, including about school.

But MacKinnon was brought to justice when the group, Scotland’s Child Protection Team, tracked him down and confronted him, livestreaming the encounter while waiting for police to arrive.

Ex-youth worker voyeur filmed Highland teen getting ready for bed

A former Inverness youth worker has been found guilty of voyeurism after secretly filming a teenager as she got ready for bed.

Andrew Jessiman – a former High Life Highland youth development officer  – had denied the charge, along with one of public indecency, during a trial at Inverness Sheriff Court.

But following two days of evidence, a jury took less than two hours to find Jessiman – who previously worked on projects including the Janny’s Hoose in Merkinch – guilty of both charges.

There was no suggestion during the trial that Jessiman’s crimes were committed during the course of his work.

Fraserburgh man jailed after setting fire to ex-lover’s house with her inside

A man who started a fire at his ex-lover’s home having warned there was “no chance” she would escape has been jailed for four and a half years.

Michal Morawski, 32, struck despite claiming he was “ill with love” for his former partner Aleksandra Ivanova.

The victim discovered the early-hours blaze at the front door of her property in Fraserburgh but was luckily able to put it out with buckets of water.

Morawski was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

Family of Balmedie pensioner killed in crash pleads for mercy for young driver

The family of a north-east pensioner killed in a crash on the way home from a hen party has pled for mercy to be shown to the young driver who caused her death.

Ellon student Bethany Fraser admitted failing to give way and crashing at a rural junction while driving back north from the Angus celebrations.

As she passed Baldoukie Motors near Tannadice, she crossed the junction at around 40mph and collided with an oncoming Land Rover.

Four passengers, including her former partner’s grandmother Agnes “Jo” Clark, were hurt, along with three people in the Land Rover – a couple and their daughter.

NHS Grampian fined £64,500 after Aberdeen musician took his own life in hospital

A north-east health board has been fined almost £65,000 after a patient took his own life at an Aberdeen hospital.

Vincent Mulsant – a popular musician who played in several local bands – was a psychiatric patient at Royal Cornhill Hospital when he died in 2020.

NHS Grampian referred the tragedy to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after it emerged the 40-year-old – who was known to friends as Vinnie – had managed to obtain clinical tape and a bin bag while at the hospital.

The HSE then passed the file to the Crown, which charged NHS Grampian with failing to ensure the health and safety of non-employees.

Four times the limit A9 drink-driver was swerving across road

A driver spotted swerving between carriageways on the A9 was more than four times the drink-drive limit.

Martin Mackenzie, 50, was stopped by police who spotted his black Mitsubishi crossing the central lane markings on the trunk road.

He failed a roadside breath test and further testing revealed his breath alcohol level to be 104 microgrammes per 100 millilitres  – the legal limit being 22 microgrammes.

Mackenzie appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit charges of careless driving and drink-driving in relation to the incident on April 29 of this year.

Boy, 16, to stand trial accused of murdering much-loved Alness family man

A 16-year-old boy is to stand trial charged with the murder of a father-of-two.

The teenager is accused of killing Scott Mitchell at a property in Alness in the Highlands on June 17 2023.

Prosecutors claim the boy shouted and swore at the 48-year-old calling him derogatory names.

He is said to have punched Mr Mitchell causing him to fall before continuing to repeatedly hit him on the head.

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