Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
‘Paranoid’ man seen with ‘gun’ outside Aberdeen Tesco dodges jail
A “paranoid” man has been spared jail after sparking panic when he was spotted outside a Tesco Express with what people believed was a real gun.
Ian Jolly donned a tactical vest during the drama outside the shop on Aberdeen’s King Street towards the end of last year.
It was later discovered that the weapon was a Glock 17-style BB pellet gun, but not before armed police officers rushed to the scene.
Dad lied to police after son broke man’s jaw in two places
A father and son have appeared in court after leaving an innocent man with a broken jaw and then lying about it to police.
Colin Kelbie Junior lashed out violently after he felt his victim had been rude to his dad, Colin Kelbie Senior.
Kelbie Snr, 57, knocked on the male’s door in Alford to inquire about a motorhome for sale.
Pair avoid prison after sofa surfing in home being used as £120,000 cannabis farm
Two men have narrowly avoided a prison sentence after they took refuge in a house that turned out to be a £120,000 cannabis farm.
Martynas Jurksaitis, 27, and Marius Povilanskas, 37, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where they admitted a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis from an address in Blackburn.
It was stated that the men had arrived in the UK from Lithuania with employment and accommodation already arranged, but when it fell through, they were left stranded and in desperate need of somewhere to sleep.
Man who torched ex-lover’s family home warned he could be jailed
A woman has spoken of the devastating impact on her family after her mum’s jilted lover set fire to their Aberdeen home, causing £275,000 of damage.
James Gallacher, 56, admitted starting the blaze that ripped through the Bucksburn property, destroying the family’s treasured possessions and memories built up over a lifetime.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Gallacher waited for his ex-partner to go on holiday before using a stolen key to enter her home.
Once inside, he poured lighter fluid over her bed and set it alight.
Drug-fuelled man stole Deliveroo car then smashed it into other vehicles
An Aberdeen drug-driver has been jailed after he stole a Deliveroo driver’s car and then crashed it into other vehicles.
Lee Smith, 37, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted a catalogue of drug-fuelled offences carried out during one night in December last year.
Smith, who has little memory of his criminal actions, believes he came across a car with its engine running and jumped into the driver’s seat and took off.
Yob tried to steal ambulance – then repeatedly rammed taxi
A yob has been locked up after trying to steal an ambulance.
Jason Grant was unsuccessful but later got behind the wheel of another vehicle and used it as a weapon by chasing and repeatedly ramming a taxi.
The 27-year-old appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court and also admitted a campaign of domestic abuse towards his ex-partner.
Inverness football coach who raped child jailed
A former Inverness girls football team coach who raped a 15-year-old female has been jailed for five years.
Lee Murray, 53, preyed on the teenage girl and took her to locations in and around Inverness for sex in his car.
A jury at the High Court in Inverness heard how Murray also sent the teenager messages containing graphic sexual content.
They were told how Murray wrote: “My wee girl you are so cute I can’t f****** wait to see you babe.”
Banker jailed for conning 81-year-old dementia sufferer out of £18,000
A former banker who conned a vulnerable customer with dementia out of almost £18,000 has been jailed.
Stephen Barr, from Aberdeen, admitted deliberately targeting 81-year-old Douglas Crumley in a desperate effort to clear his own debts.
Mr Crumley – who has since died – was targeted at the Bank of Scotland by ex-link manager Barr because of his confused state.
120mph suspected drink-driver jumped out of smoking vehicle and sparked police chase
A suspected drink-driver who hit 120mph before ditching his car and fleeing from police has been banned from the roads.
Liam Taylor appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted a series of charges committed on the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverurie.
The 35-year-old was seen tearing along the busy road at high speed before his vehicle broke down and smoke began to pour from its engine.
Abandoning his car on a roundabout, Taylor then fled the scene on foot.
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Pensioner snared by paedophile hunters sent sexual messages to ‘child’ decoys
A pensioner has been placed on the sex offenders register after sending sexual messages to paedophile hunters posing as children online.
Raymond Paterson thought he was communicating with teenagers aged from 13 to 15.
He complimented their underwear, gave instructions on how to pleasure themselves and sent messages saying what he wanted to do with them.
Baton and knuckle-duster off Aberdeen streets as weapons seized
Dangerous weapons have been taken off the streets of Aberdeen after cops caught men with a police-style baton and a concealed knuckle-duster.
Liam Marshall, 29, and Caleb Stewart, 21, were caught with a baton and knuckle-duster respectively in separate incidents in the city.
Both have not had their weapons forfeited and appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Police officer accused of assault at Lerwick station
A police officer is set to go on trial accused of assaulting a man in custody in Lerwick.
Richard Douglas faces a charge of assault, or an alternate charge or culpable and reckless conduct, over an incident involving a male under arrest at Lerwick Police Station.
Douglas, 45, is alleged to have assaulted the male by pulling him out of a police vehicle and onto the ground before lifting him up by pulling one of his handcuffed arms.
Woman, 58, avoids prison after she bought stun gun disguised as BMW key
A woman has avoided a lengthy prison sentence after she bought a stun gun disguised as a BMW key.
Linda McKenzie was caught red-handed when police went to her home and found the fake fob lying on her coffee table.
The 58-year-old claimed it was a personal attack alarm she bought from the online marketplace, however, an examination concluded it was a disguised stun gun.
Her lawyer, David Sutherland, stated his client had bought it over fears for her personal safety.
Dangerous Highland serial rapist may never be freed from prison
A dangerous sex attacker who raped multiple women in Aberdeen and the Highlands could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being classed as a high-risk offender.
Derek Mackay, from Invergordon, was convicted of a string of serious sexual offences, involving five different women.
He was found guilty of 11 rapes, three indecent assaults, one sexual assault by penetration, as well as two counts each of voyeurism and disclosing personal images.
Inverness domestic abuser jailed for bite attack on estranged wife
A sheriff has jailed a domestic abuser for 18 months after a brutal biting attack on his estranged wife.
Lewis Swenson – who has previous convictions for domestic offences and has twice completed a programme for men who are violent towards their partners – assaulted his ex in an Inverness pub.
When his victim tried to push him away with her hand, Swenson, 27, took hold of her finger with his teeth and refused to let go.
Man had 22 hours of child abuse footage – and more than 1,000 images
A man has been convicted of having indecent images of children after police found more than 22 hours of sick videos on his devices.
As well as 260 videos, Nigel Gordon also had 1,142 indecent images of children.
The content was found after police searched Gordon’s then home on Pinewood Drive, Inverness.
‘Confused’ man led boy, 13, into woods near school and sexually assaulted him
A “confused” pervert led a 13-year-old boy into the woods in Aberdeenshire and sexually assaulted him.
Connor Harrison started talking to the child while lurking outside Lumsden School one evening and quickly began acting strangely.
The 28-year-old stared at the child’s groin and complimented his legs before leading him into a wooded area.
Man in court accused of sexually assaulting girl, 15, at Inverness’ Gathering Place
A man has appeared in court after a 15-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in Inverness.
Police cordoned off the city’s Gathering Place at the weekend following reports of a serious sexual assault.
Mohammed Zahid appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court charged with sexual assault by penetration.
He made no plea, was committed for further examination and was released on bail.
Lout’s chilling acid threat to ex partner and her family
A furious yob armed himself with a bottle of acid and threatened to throw it over his ex partner and her family after the breakdown of their relationship.
Robson Curry drove to the woman’s home in Aberdeen to collect clothing, but stormed into her bedroom and smashed a mirror.
The 26-year-old also broke a window, grabbed a bottle of ammonia from his car and threatened to throw it over the woman and warned he would burn her house down.
Highland teacher clear of assaulting two disruptive pupils
A Highland secondary school teacher who was accused of assaulting two disruptive pupils was cleared by a sheriff after they were branded “neither credible nor reliable”.
The teenagers, now aged 14 and who cannot be named for legal reasons, have both been expelled after vandalising the teacher’s car when one of them smashed his windscreen in a fit of rage at being ticked off.
Niall Maclennan, from Lentran near Inverness, had denied pushing both boys on the body after confronting them for dodging class and the noise they were making in the corridor outside his room on February 1 this year.
Mr Maclennan’s school cannot be named for legal reasons.
Sex offender had image of child under two being abused
A sex offender had a graphic image of a child aged under two being abused, Inverness Sheriff Court has heard.
Roy Howe, 36, also had photos of young girls dressed in adult lingerie on his devices.
The images were found after police officers carried out a device inspection at Howe’s home – a condition he was made subject to following previous sexual offending.
Prolific Aberdeen shoplifter stole DVDs worth more than £5,000
A prolific shoplifter stole more than £5,000 worth of DVDs from shops in Aberdeen and across the north-east over the course of an eight-month spree.
Phillip Duncan admitted SEVENTEEN shoplifting charges, stealing almost exclusively DVDs.
As well as HMV in Aberdeen city centre, Duncan, 32, seemed to specifically target Asda stores, hitting ones in Bridge of Don, Dyce, Portlethen, Huntly and Fraserburgh,
Serial drink-driver sparked Inverness police chase just weeks after being freed from prison
A serial Highland drink-driver has been jailed after he was caught behind the wheel just weeks after being released from prison.
Anthony Rudman tried to flee police and sparked a police chase through streets of Inverness’ Muirtown area and into the Carse industrial estate on August 1 this year.
Rudman was jailed for seven months in March this year after he admitted driving dangerously while under the influence of alcohol.
That case was his third conviction for drink-driving, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
Wick man jailed for trying to murder woman in flat fire attack
A man was jailed for 11 years today after trying to murder a sleeping woman in a fire attack at an address in the Highlands.
David Macgregor ignited a flare and put it through a letterbox at the property in Wick while the woman was asleep.
A judge told Macgregor, 46, that fortunately the victim’s smoke and fire alarm at the upstairs flat was activated and she got out.
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Former Aberdeen cabbie sentenced over drink and dangerous driving
A former taxi driver convicted of drink-driving and dangerous driving has been handed a supervision order.
Frank Price had denied four charges but was found guilty following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in April.
The 71-year-old – who chose to defend himself without the aid of a solicitor – questioned witnesses in sometimes testy courtroom scenes and referred to Sheriff Lesley Johnston as “dear” throughout.
Man on attempted murder charge after alleged stabbing of woman in Aberdeen
A man has appeared in court facing a murder bid charge after allegedly stabbing a woman multiple times in Aberdeen.
Police were called to a property on Strabathie Drive in Bridge of Don on Tuesday evening following reports of a “disturbance”.
A male was arrested while a female was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious injuries.
Man jailed after police raid flat and recover £30,000 of ketamine
A man has been jailed after police raided a flat party in Aberdeen and recovered more than £30,000 of ketamine.
Blair Robertson, 23, Jason Baxter, 27, and Maksim Kniazkin, 25, were all within the property at Peacocks Court in Aberdeen when police arrived at the door.
Baxter and Kniazkin both tried to obstruct police by holding a door shut and attempting to flush drugs down the toilet.
Men in court following Ardness Place disturbance in Inverness
Two men have appeared in court in Inverness following a disturbance on an Inverness street.
Vehicles were damaged and a broadband box was hit by a van on Ardness Place during the incident on July 11 this year.
Connor and David Stewart both deny all allegations against them, as well as a serious assault charge that alleges they assaulted a man with a bottle, rock, knife and mallet.
Highland diamond mine fraudster jailed over cruel lies to pub pals
A fraudster who spun an “elaborate and highly imaginative web of lies” to con several people out of more than £73,000 has been sentenced to 33 months in jail.
Heartless Michael Walker, 56, managed to persuade an elderly man to hand over approximately £65,000 after convincing him to buy into the fake diamond mine.
Walker’s lies were so convincing he also managed to get customers at the Clachnaharry Inn to part with cash between January 2015 and October 2016.
Caithness pensioner jailed for sex assault on young teen
A 76-year-old Caithness man has been jailed for molesting a young teenage girl.
George Cameron was found guilty of sexual assault after a jury was told he asked the child for “a hug” before kissing and licking her neck and face and touching her chest.
Following the attack, he encouraged his young victim to keep it a secret.
Heart transplant can’t save Aberdeen child rapist from prison
A heart transplant patient was jailed today after a judge rejected a plea to let him remain at liberty when he admitted abusing three girls.
Lord Young told Robert Foulkes at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You have pled guilty to three charges involving extremely serious sexual offending against young children.”
The judge adjourned sentence on Foulkes, 65, until next month for the preparation of a background report and said: “You are going to be remanded in custody until sentence.”
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