Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Man threatened police with a ‘cartel death’ after being removed from Inverness shop
A man who threatened police officers with “a cartel death” and told them “your family will burn” has been spared jail at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Malcolm Watson – who the court was told is a “very pleasant gentleman” when sober – had already been forcibly removed from a city centre supermarket, assaulting a woman in the process.
During his journey to the police station, Watson, 38, made a number of comments, which were acknowledged by his own solicitor to be “abhorrent”.
Lifeboat volunteers launch in early hours to assist large cargo vessel on Skye
10 March 2025.
WATCH: Elgin Poundland fire footage released as teenager sentenced
The teenager who set a fire that engulfed Poundland in Elgin causing an estimated £1m worth of damaged has been placed on supervision for two years.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previously found guilty of cuplable and reckless fireraising following a trial by jury in Inverness.
He had denied the charge, claiming a teenage girl was instead responsible for the blaze, which was captured on CCTV footage.
Serial driving offender from Sandhaven handed lifetime roads ban
A man with multiple driving convictions has been warned he faces a stint in prison after being handed a lifetime ban from the roads.
Peterhead Sheriff Court heard that Luis Santiago, 53, has now racked up half a dozen convictions for driving offences and has already spent time behind bars for one of them.
His latest run-in with the law came on January 14 this year, when police officers responded to reports of a car crash in Fraserburgh’s Watermill Road.
Aberdeen pensioner jailed for abusing children at caravan park
An Aberdeen pensioner who sexually abused four young children at a Fife caravan park over a period spanning 20 years has been jailed.
John Gibson, 79, violated three girls and a boy at Pettycur Bay Holiday Park at Kinghorn, between 1996 and 2015.
Gibson, of Oldcroft Road in Aberdeen, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court from custody for sentencing after a jury earlier convicted him of five charges after trial.
Aberdeen drink-driver flipped car while driving back from pub … just two minutes from home
An Aberdeen football hooligan has been disqualified from driving after he flipped his car while driving home drunk from a pub that was just two minutes from his home.
Ben Cumming, 20, was driving dangerously when he collided with a kerb at high speed on Granitehill Road, Aberdeen, in early December last year.
By the time police arrived, Cumming had fled the scene but was soon located at his mum’s house.
Man who demanded helicopter to London during Alness siege jailed
A man who demanded a helicopter to London while armed with a vacuum attachment during a siege in Alness had been jailed.
Hostage-taker Patrick Muldoon was handed a two-year sentence after he brandished the implement during an incident in the town’s Westford, claiming to have a firearm.
He had already held a knife to a man’s throat and made threats to kill his partner and stab police.
St Cyrus sex abuser took photographs of child victims
A paedophile who photographed himself repeatedly sexually abusing a child was caught after cybercrime investigators discovered he was using his home wifi to share the sickening images.
St Cyrus offshore worker Alan Moir, 43, was brought to justice after the Police received intelligence from the National Online Child Abuse Prevention (NOCAP) organisation.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard today how NOCAP had discovered that an IP address had been sharing child abuse content and linked it to Moir’s home in St Cyrus.
Fraserburgh man who had drugs hidden in Kinder Egg handed unpaid work order
A former heroin addict from Fraserburgh has been told to complete unpaid work after he was caught with 17 wraps of the drug hidden in a Kinder Egg.
Paul Rennie, 48, was spotted by police constables in the Robertson Road area of Fraserburgh in September last year where
Fiscal depute Lydia Williams told Peterhead Sheriff Court he was acting “agitated” and tried to leave the scene by bicycle.
During his retreat he dropped both his mobile phone and a yellow capsule from a Kinder Egg.
Fraserburgh man fined for spitting at nurse ‘just doing her job’
A Fraserburgh man has been told to pay compensation to a nurse who he assaulted by spitting on her while she was working to help him.
Damian White, 21, appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday for sentencing after earlier admitting to the vile act at a previous hearing.
The court heard how he went to Fraserburgh Hospital on February 4 after injuring himself and, when a nurse removed his clothing, she uncovered a lock blade.
When he was told she would need to report it to the police, he became aggressive and spat.
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Former Inverness organist displayed indecent images on shelf at home
A former Inverness church organist who was twice jailed for possessing vast amounts of indecent images and videos of children has been caught again – after he displayed pictures on a shelf in his bedroom.
Iain McIntyre appeared before Sheriff Sara Matheson and pleaded guilty to possessing a total of 15 printed photos on January 10 last year.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood told Inverness Sheriff Court they were found by police who had obtained a search warrant for his home and involved girls aged between 14 and 15, mostly in states of undress.
Former Turriff man sent sexual image of himself to 15-year-old girl
A former Turriff man has avoided jail after admitting to sending pictures of himself to a teenage girl.
Greg Mitchell, 35, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to be convicted of one charge of sending a sexual image to a 15-year-old girl.
Mitchell messaged the teen on Tik Tok, initially from a number registered to his wife, the court heard.
Woman denies murdering mum-of-one in Tillydrone knife attack
A woman is to stand trial charged with the murder of a mother.
Dionne Wilson, 31, is accused of killing Sara Irvine at a property in Auchinleck Road, Aberdeen, on April 17 2024.
It is claimed she lunged at the 34-year-old and grabbed her causing the woman to fall onto a sofa.
Highland foot fetishist who paid teens for pictures jailed
A foot fetishist who offered to pay teenage girls for pictures of their feet – then replied with photos of himself in a state of arousal had been jailed.
Keith Mowat said the girls – aged 17 and 13 – could make money if they sent him the snaps but soon began to ask them to show him more intimate parts of their bodies.
When a 13-year-old victim did so, he shared those pictures with people that she knew, leaving her “embarrassed and distressed”.
His solicitor told the court: “He can’t tell me why he did it.”
Aberdeen court security guard’s violent rape of young woman was ‘beyond her worst nightmare’
A former court security guard who posed as a good Samaritan to help the woman stranded after a night out in Aberdeen has been jailed for her “horrific” rape.
Buruhana Jabang, 37, took the vulnerable young woman back to his flat in Mastrick on the pretense that she could charge her dead mobile phone, but instead “spotted an opportunity” to prey on her.
In an attack that the High Court in Aberdeen was told was “beyond her worst nightmare”, Jabang – along with an accomplice – raped the woman when they got back to the Mastrick property.
The Press and Journal understands the other man has since fled the country and has not been prosecuted for his crime.
Huntly man jailed after he threatened to ‘slit throat’ of ex-girlfriend’s mum
A man has been jailed after he posted on Facebook that he was going to cut the throat of his ex’s mother and “watch her die”.
John Simpson appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted making the chilling threats after hearing his ex-partner and her mother had asked a member of his family to give evidence against him in another court case.
The 32-year-old the posted on social media that he would “slit the throat” of his former partner’s mum and watch her die “painfully”.
When police arrived to arrest Simpson, he verbally abused them as he resisted arrest.
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Man guilty of sexual assault on woman in Peterhead nightclub
A man has been found guilty of carrying out a sexual assault on a woman as she stood at the bar of a Peterhead nightclub.
Tomas Bartnykas, 40, reached under his victim’s dress before penetrating her with his fingers against her will, Peterhead Sheriff Court heard.
Bartnykas’ victim told police about the incident, which took place at Viva’s Bar and Nightclub in 2022, because she would have never forgiven herself if Bartnykas did it to someone else.
More pro-Palestine protestors appear in Aberdeen court after Home Bargains demos
More pro-Palestine protestors – including an Aberdeen University professor – have appeared at court following alleged disturbances at two Aberdeen shops last month.
Ten people have now been charged with an alleged breach of the peace at the Home Bargains store at Aberdeen’s beach, while three were allegedly causing a similar disturbance at the shopping chain’s Berryden store a week later.
Willemein Hoogendoorn, 62, was previously remanded in custody after the February 15 beach protest because she refused to adhere to bail conditions that would ban her from Home Bargains stores across the UK.
A trial date for Hoogendoorn was set for March 21 and she denies the charge of breach of the peace.
Aberdeen armed robber facing more time in jail after ‘unduly lenient’ sentence appealed
An Aberdeen armed robber who traumatised a lone female shop worker after he threatened to stab her with a large knife could face having his sentence increased following an appeal hearing.
Veteran criminal John Gallagher, 51, was jailed for three and a half years last year following his raid on a store in Aberdeen.
But the Crown brought an appeal against the sentence imposed on him at the High Court in Edinburgh, maintaining that it was “unduly lenient”.
Retired Aberdeen consultant banned after knocking cyclist off bike at Queen’s Cross roundabout
A prominent retired Aberdeen consultant has been banned from the roads after his careless driving left a cyclist with a broken collarbone.
Neil Edward, 87, struck the cyclist with his car as he navigated Queen’s Cross roundabout and the incident sparked a police appeal for the driver to come forward.
Edward – a renowned pioneer in the fight against kidney disease – was said to be “horrified and ashamed” to be in this position.
Westhill owner of pony that died of malnutrition banned from keeping animals
A woman has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after she failed to get help for a pony that died after losing half its bodyweight.
Louise Emslie, 32, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where she admitted failing to properly care for seven horses and causing unnecessary suffering to one pony, named Jazzie, who later died due to malnutrition and dehydration.
When Jazzie was assessed by a vet prior to her death, she was found to be less than half the weight when she should have been due to having very little fat or muscle on her body.
Man jailed for historic rapes of woman and child in Aberdeen and Portlethen
An Aberdeen pensioner has been jailed for the repeated rapes of a woman and young girl more than 30 years ago.
Terence Hird, 68, was found guilty by majority by a jury on two charges of rape and one breach of the peace.
On sentencing him to 11 years in prison, Judge William Summers said the offences were “profoundly troubling” and he had acted in a “most appalling way”.
A verdict of not proven was returned on two further rape charges relating to the same victims.