Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases – from the sick stalker who targeted women on social media to the Highland footballer who was unmasked as a drug dealer.
‘Scotland’s youngest recorded alcoholic’ in the dock
Scotland’s youngest recorded alcoholic who is now a heroin and crack cocaine addict has been jailed for three months.
Lee Dyce was to be assessed for a strict drug treatment and testing order but failed to keep contact with his assessors.
He was arrested on warrant and appeared from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court today to be sentenced afresh.
‘I’ll tell your wife everything’
A woman blackmailed a boat skipper to fund her drug habit – by threatening to show his wife their saucy text messages.
Laura Chapman had a brief relationship with a married captain of a boat that regularly docked in Macduff.
But when he ended things, the 35-year-old became upset and resorted to demanding various sums of cash in order to buy her silence.
Man exposed himself to girls he invited round for pizza
A man who invited underage girls into his home for pizza and then exposed himself to them has been placed on the sex offenders register for two years.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how James Grieve, 32, also sent the two girls – who were both under 16 – a series of sexualised Snapchat messages requesting they send naked pictures of themselves on May 29 this year.
He admitted four charges of intentionally exposing himself and sending sexual communications when he appeared at an earlier hearing in August this year.
Revenge porn case
An Aberdeen man who sent intimate photos of a fellow student to her boyfriend did so out of an “abusive sense of revenge”.
Marc Milne, from Aberdeen, encouraged the woman to send him photos of herself during conversations over Snapchat.
But after sending them on December 31, she blocked him – prompting Milne to brand her a “scumbag” who “cheated on her boyfriend”.
Man accused of fatal police chase tragedy
A man appeared in court on Wednesday charged with causing the death of a pedestrian in a hit-and-run while being pursued by the police.
A 48-year-old man was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in a serious condition after he was knocked down on Great Northern Road on Monday, August 16.
He died on Saturday, September 11, police have confirmed.
‘Covid’ cougher’s threat to Lidl boss
A yob taunted a Lidl store manager, telling him he now had Covid, after coughing into his hand and flicking it towards his face.
Irek Witkowski had been escorted into the staff canteen at Lidl on King Street after staff suspected he had been shoplifting.
The 44-year-old told staff he had coronavirus, after breaking a door handle in a bid to escape, coughed into his hand and flicked it towards the store manager’s face.
Witkowski then taunted that the man now had Covid.
Rapist targeted stranger
A predator who raped a teenage stranger after she offered to show him the way to an address was jailed for seven years today.
Graham Shepherd, 32, launched a sex attack on the girl after encountering her in the early hours of the morning in Kirkwall, in Orkney.
A judge told Shepherd: “You have been convicted of the rape of a young girl, a stranger to you, which was no doubt a horrific experience for her.”
The Snapchat sex attacker
A supermarket worker who befriended teen girls on Snapchat and gave them lifts in his car before groping them and forcing them to touch his genitals has been found guilty of two counts of sexual assault.
Nathan Ross, 22, had denied both the charges, one of which related to a child aged between 13 and 16, and went on trial at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Nathan Ross was found guilty sexually assaulting two girls he met over Snapchat
The court heard that in 2019 Ross had used Snapchat’s automated “quick add” feature to connect with people he did not know personally and had then started communicating with the teens.
Racist prisoner has converted to Islam
A prisoner trashed his cell, had to be dragged away by staff in riot gear and then racially abused a black nurse – despite claiming he’s not racist and has converted to Islam.
Lee Hipson began to harm himself and smash up his cell when he was not given his medication due to “being under the influence of an unknown substance”.
The 28-year-old put a broken TV and squeezed tubes of paint through a broken hatch in his cell door, until a team of five staff with protective helmets and shields arrived to take him to a segregation area.
Oil worker turned to dealing after losing job
An offshore worker who lost his job during lockdown has admitted turning to drug dealing to make ends meet.
Ian Dingwall, 40, was found with cannabis and his pockets stuffed with thousands of pounds in cash when cops searched him on July 23 last year.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told he’d been offered the opportunity to make some money selling drugs when he lost his job and had “stupidly” taken it.
Couple’s cocaine operation
On Thursday, A couple dodged a jail term despite being caught with cocaine worth up to £15,600 after turning to dealing to pay off drug debts.
Jordan Ivancic, 24, became involved in the illegal trade after losing his job in lockdown and racking up a drug debt of £5,000.
However 26-year-old Olivia Smith – his partner at the time – got caught up due to a loved one owing a drug debt to the same people.
Man couldn’t accept relationship was over
A man who bombarded his ex with letters, gifts, flowers and visits after she ended their relationship has been fined.
Alexander Morrison, 29, of Bridge View Drive, Inverness, took the break up badly and used offerings, drive-bys and unannounced visits at all hours in an attempt to rekindle the romance.
But the woman found his behaviour frightening and contacted police, resulting in a charge of engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive to his ex-partner.
The sentencing on Thursday heard that Morrison relationship fell apart following an argument.
‘Accidental’ punch lands man in court
A man claimed he was aiming for someone else when he punched a woman during a drunken rammy at an Aberdeen house party.
Randolph Ross, 29, admitted drinking a large amount of alcohol at the party on Rowlett South Road, Aberdeen where he became aggressive after an argument with another guest on January 4 this year.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that when a fight broke out in the kitchen Ross swung a punch and hit a woman – giving her a black eye.
He later claimed he was aiming the punch at another man.
Fish slice attack
A woman armed with a fish slice battered and robbed a man with learning difficulties in his own home.
The vulnerable victim awoke to find Heather Jolly and a second, unidentified woman, inside his home in the Sheddocksley area.
The pair shouted “where’s the money?” before Jolly, 48, grabbed a metal fish slice from the kitchen and began hitting the man with it.
‘Danger to women’ locked up after multiple rapes
A predator has been described as “a danger to women” and is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of multiple rapes and sex assaults across the north and north-east.
Sex offender Christopher Hyde faced a total of 22 charges involving six different victims over an 18-year period in various properties and locations in Inverness, Nairn and Aberdeen.
They occurred between January 1, 2000 and October 11, 2018.
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