Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Serial Aberdeen drink-driver crashed into car with toddler inside
A serial drink-driver has been banned from the road after he smashed into a Range Rover with a toddler inside before leaving the scene of the accident.
Steven Small, from Torry, callously walked away from the wreckage – leaving behind a half-drunk bottle of vodka in the footwell.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the crash happened on September 15 2022 on Riverside Drive.
Despicable thief jailed after stealing Aberdeen widow’s ‘lifetime of treasures’
A prolific housebreaker has been jailed after stealing an Aberdeen widow’s priceless collection of jewellery and precious family keepsakes.
The 75-year-old pensioner said career criminal and lifelong drug addict Gordon Martin’s “despicable” crime has left her heartbroken and terrified.
None of the jewellery or sentimental items – including her late husband’s wedding ring and her children’s baby bracelets – have been recovered.
In a moving victim impact statement, the widow said: “I can never get back my lifetime’s treasures.”
Inverness teen spat at bus driver and mocked man with one leg
A teenager who spat on a bus driver and mocked a wheelchair user with one leg has avoided jail at Inverness Sheriff Court.
McKenzie Cochrane assaulted the female Stagecoach employee after being challenged over his lack of a ticket for the bus in Inverness.
On a separate occasion, he made fun of a wheelchair user with one leg outside Raigmore Hospital and became aggressive towards him.
He also assaulted a worker at a city betting shop, throwing food at him and kicking him.
Domestic abuser attacked partner and dragged her from bed
A man who attacked his partner in bed had been spared jail after he admitted the domestic assault.
Jordan Hooper straddled the woman and punched her, before pulling her out of bed by her leg and causing her to fall to the floor.
A sheriff warned the 24-year-old – who has previous convictions for domestic abuse – that he was “on the very cusp” of being sent to prison.
Aberdeen thug who stamped on victim’s head is jailed
A vicious thug who punched a man in the street before repeatedly stamping on his head has been jailed for more than three years.
Francis McPhee, 35, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where he admitted viciously assaulting his victim in an unprovoked attack in broad daylight.
The attack, which took place in Aberdeen city centre, was captured on CCTV and showed McPhee standing still outside the St Nicholas Centre before exploding into violence.
Woman who attacked off-duty Inverness police officer spared jail
A woman attacked an off-duty policewoman on an Inverness street, leaving her unable to work for three days.
Demi Maclennan dragged the officer to the ground and repeatedly struck her.
At one point during the vicious assault, McLennan clawed inside the officer’s mouth.
Man who wielded large knife in Northfield Spar jailed
A man who brandished large kitchen knife in an Aberdeen branch of Spar has been jailed – with a sheriff telling him that his young age isn’t a “get-out-of-jail-free card”.
Liam Farquharson, 20, told two people inside the Northfield Spar mini-market that he would kill them while holding the blade aloft and demanding they come outside.
During a separate incident outside a block of flats in the same area, Farquharson was seen pointing a knife at another man before telling him he would “put a hole in his chest”.
His solicitor described Farquharson as being heavily under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Domestic abuser who tried to cause woman mental breakdown is jailed
A relentless domestic abuser who was purposely trying to provoke a mental breakdown in his female victim has been jailed.
Police arrested Tyler Whyte following a small gathering at a flat in Aberdeen when the friends of the young woman became concerned by the 22-year-old’s erratic and violent behaviour.
At one point during the evening, Whyte was heard to exclaim that his intent was to cause the woman “to have a mental breakdown”.
Man who killed friend in Aberdeen high-rise confrontation jailed for five years
A remorseful killer who “struggles” to come to terms with how he took his friend’s life following an argument has been jailed for five years and four months.
Dawid Majewicz, 43, struck pal Jacek Dembinski on the arm with a kitchen knife during a confrontation in Aberdeen last August.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Majewicz claims that Mr Dembinski hit him on the head with a bottle in the moments leading up to the stabbing.
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Teenager armed robber who targeted Aberdeen taxi drivers locked up
A teenage armed robber who targeted Aberdeen taxi drivers has been jailed for more than two years.
Drug-fuelled Ellis Gardiner pressed a knife into the face of one driver, drawing blood, and robbed another of £50 after brandishing a screwdriver at him.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the 19-year-old even victimised his own mum, stealing £80 from her when he was in a drug-addled frenzy.
Peterhead man started targeting neighbours with threats after they didn’t say ‘good morning’
A Peterhead man embarked on a campaign of threatening behaviour against his neighbours when they failed to wish him a good morning, a court has been told.
David Mcmenemie, 70, inserted himself into a rift between two sets of warring neighbours and began targeting one because they had not greeted him in the days beforehand.
It led to a CCTV cameras going up and Mcmenemie taking aim at Keith and Ross Barney-Whyte with threatening remarks, shouts, and swearing for more than a month between September 14 and October 31 last year.
Buckie paedophile pensioner sent vile messages to decoy posing as girl, 14
A paedophile pensioner who sent vile messages to an online decoy posing as a 14-year-old girl has been placed on the sex offenders register.
Duncan Moir believed he was talking to a teen called Molly on Facebook when he sent messages that explicitly detailed sexual acts.
He asked her intimate questions about her anatomy and warned her not to tell anyone about their chats, saying: “I would be in trouble because of your age baby.”
Aberdeen man found guilty of rape, sexual assault and attacks on women
An Aberdeen man has been locked up after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another.
Jamie Forbes, 33, wept as he was put in handcuffs following the verdict at his High Court trial.
All the offences – including assaults on two other women – took place between 2016 and 2023.
Man accused of death crash allegedly drove at almost 200mph
An Aberdeen man is accused of driving at almost 200mph before a passenger in his car later died in a fatal crash.
Josh Buchan faces an allegation of causing the death of Ben Taylor, 19, after losing control of his Audi RS3 on the B9077 South Deeside Road in Aberdeen on September 25 2022.
Buchan is first charged with culpable and reckless conduct in the months before the incident.
Aberdeen sugar daddy swindler admits scissors stabbing
A notorious sugar daddy blackmailer has appeared in court and has shown an escalation in her offending from online scams to physical attacks.
Tiffany Anderson, 27, admitted violently assaulting one woman before robbing her of her belongings in a secluded lane close to the city centre.
Anderson also admitted a separate attack on a man in the north of Aberdeen using a pair of scissors, which left her victim injured.
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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.
Jailed Mintlaw wife-killer blames abused spouse’s emails for his downfall
A university lecturer was secretly treated “like a dog” for 10 years before a Mintlaw man shot her dead, chilling newly released emails have claimed.
Wayne Fraser, 49, cruelly blasted his wheelchair user wife Natalie Ryan-Fraser in the neck with her handgun on December 30 2021 and is currently serving 20 years behind bars in the USA for her killing.
A Mississippi jury disagreed with the state prosecutor that Fraser was guilty of murder, instead finding him guilty of culpable negligence manslaughter.
Portlethen biker banned after hitting 130mph on Aberdeen roads
A Portlethen man has been banned from the roads for three years after admitting hitting speeds of 130mph on a motorbike.
Andrew Dinan, 28, was spotted by traffic cops riding a silver Honda 1000cc motorcycle through Altens in Aberdeen on June 24 last year.
Police were carrying out speed checks at the Loch of Loirston area and saw Dinan’s bike travelling over the speed limit just before 7pm.
Killer dad threatened to murder Codona’s worker after his child was deemed too small for ride
A convicted killer has been fined after he flew into a violent rage and threatened to murder an Aberdeen fairground worker who refused to let his undersized son on a ride.
Shaun Stewart, also known as Paton, became incensed when a member of staff at Codona’s in Aberdeen stopped the six-year-old from getting on a ride and told the worker he had done time for murder.
The 39-year-old dad then took his rage onto social media, making chilling threats to give the worker a “permanent smile”.
Man who sexually assaulted reveller in Peterhead nightclub avoids jail
A man who sexually assaulted a woman while she was on a night out with friends in Peterhead has avoided a prison sentence.
Tomas Bartnykas, 40, attacked the woman in Viva’s Bar and Nightclub in 2022 while she stood waiting to be served.
At Peterhead Sheriff Court last month, it took a jury less than two hours to find him guilty of reaching his hand underneath her dress and penetrating her with his fingers.
Highland Wildcats coach jailed after he tricked boys into stripping
An Inverness American football coach who had teenage boys pose for naked photos and videos under the guise of making a sex education video has been jailed for two years.
Former head coach of the Highland Wildcats, Robert “Robbie” Paulin was convicted of two charges of arranging or facilitating the involvement in pornography of a person aged under 18 by a jury at Inverness Sheriff Court in March.
At the sentencing hearing today, Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Paulin: “You took the opportunity to groom these young men – you spotted their individual vulnerabilities and made a plan.
“You manipulated and deceived them – you tricked them both.”
Aberdeen man admits sex assault on Costa barista
A convicted Aberdeen sex offender has been placed under supervision after sexually assaulting a coffee shop worker in the city centre last year.
Christopher Barron, 38, admitted following one of the baristas at the Costa coffee shop and then standing closely behind her, touching her on the buttocks.
Barron carried out the assault on June 10 last year while on bail, which had been granted just weeks before at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The court heard Barron had been lurking around the cafe after staff began their shifts at 7.30am.
Animal porn on Lhanbryde man’s iPhone was WhatsApp ‘banter’, court hears
A Lhanbryde man who had videos of animal pornography on his mobile phone said he only had them because it was “banter” in a WhatsApp group chat.
Josh Clark’s home was raided in July 2023 by police who seized an iPhone within his bedroom.
On it were three videos of humans having sex with animals.
Rosehearty man who attacked his neighbour in DVD row handed work order
A Rosehearty man who once ram-raided a shop with a digger has been sentenced for beating up a neighbour in a row over a DVD.
Duncan Elrick was jailed in 2019 after he drunkenly stole a digger and crashed it into Keith’s Spar store in an attempt to steal money from the bank machine, and was in the dock again last month standing trial for another crime.
The 42-year-old saw his case collapse, however, when he made the stunning admission that he had indeed gone outside to attack Michael Kennedy when he was outside their home making his partner upset.
He had previously lodged a special defence of self-defence.