Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Man faces jail after knocking shopper unconscious
A Fortrose man is facing jail after knocking an Inverness shopper unconscious – leaving the man with a broken jaw and nose.
Zen Etchells punched his victim’s head, causing the man to hit it on the ground.
The 28-year-old landed in the dock at Inverness Sheriff Court following the violent argument at Rose Street Retail Park on August 6 last year.
Etchells’ victim encountered his attacker outside Iceland, the court heard.
Thief stole £25,000 worth of vehicles in three nights
A young thief who stole almost £25,000 worth of cars and bikes over three nights has blamed his bad behaviour on the Covid lockdown.
Dylan Thompson was aged 21 when he carried out four high-value thefts of vehicles from homes in the Broomhill, Cults and Torry areas of Aberdeen.
He also struck in Ellon during the crime spree in August 2020.
The 24-year-old acted alongside another male as they stole two cars, a quad bike and a motorcycle.
Pensioner with failing eyesight knocked cyclist into road
A pensioner with failing eyesight knocked a cyclist into the road with his car and drove on, a court has heard.
Thomas Begg – who has since had a cataract operation – lost a wing mirror in the collision, which caused a cut and bruises to the cyclist.
The 82-year-old appeared at Tain Sheriff Court and admitted careless driving by driving when he had defective eyesight.
Boy, 17, on murder bid charge as man found stabbed
A 17-year-old boy is facing an attempted murder charge after a man was stabbed multiple times in Aberdeen.
Police raced to the scene of the incident in Cummings Park Crescent on Saturday evening after receiving reports of a “disturbance”.
When they arrived, they found a 30-year-old male with serious injuries, understood to be multiple stab wounds.
The injured man was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where his condition is unknown.
Dad who drunkenly fell asleep on top of daughter spared punishment
A dad who drunkenly fell asleep on top of his distressed nine-year-old daughter, trapping her underneath him for an hour, has been admonished in court.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children, had been looking after his daughter and her younger brother at the time of the incident.
He drank so much that he ended up falling asleep on top of the girl’s legs and could not be roused as the distressed youngsters frantically tried to wake him and lift him off.
Drink-driver blames it on week-long battle with constipation
Drink-driver has failed to convince a court that a week-long bout of constipation caused him to be over the limit.
Donald Findlay told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that bowel problems meant he sometimes didn’t go to the toilet for up to eight days at a time and therefore alcohol “didn’t get out” of his system.
The 66-year-old was caught behind the wheel of his white Ford van at Gordon Schools and other areas in Huntly on August 20 2020 while more than two-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit.
‘No alternative’ to jail for prolific Inverness thief
A habitual thief with 89 offences of dishonesty was jailed for a total of 31 months after admitting another two charges.
Rory Mackay, from Inverness, appeared before Sheriff Ian Cruickshank and admitted stealing a cash register from the Glenmoriston Hotel in Inverness on September 18 last year.
The 44-year-old also pleaded guilty to being found in a property in Ballifeary Road four days later whereby it could be inferred that he was there to commit theft.
Crofter put up ‘offensive’ signs about neighbours
A crofter who fell out with his neighbours put up “offensive” signs about them and tailgated their vehicle.
Douglas Sinclair, 56, also shouted and swore at his neighbours during a frightening four-month-long episode of stalking.
The painter-decorator admitted to subjecting the couple to a course of conduct which caused them fear and alarm.
Man cleared of meat cleaver murder bid
A man accused of attempting to murder his best friend with a meat cleaver and hammer has been acquitted after the victim told a jury: “I probably did it myself”.
Kim Twidale’s trial at the High Court in Aberdeen lasted less than two hours and, after hearing evidence from Scott Jarrett, the prosecution team decided to drop all the charges.
Mr Twidale, 45, had been accused of attempting to murder Mr Jarrett at his home on Logie Road, Crimond, by assaulting him to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
Man jailed after being caught with knife in city centre Co-op
A man has been jailed after being caught carrying a knife at a Co-op.
Josh McLaren was “heavily impaired” when he visited the store in Church Street, Inverness, and was seen staggering into displays.
Police who were called to the scene searched the 22-year-old and found a three-inch locking knife in his trouser pocket – which McLaren told them he had forgotten was there.
Unruly passenger who caused plane to turn around on runway facing jail
An abusive passenger who forced a plane to turn around on the runway at Aberdeen airport has been warned he could be jailed.
Jason Harris had to be escorted off the British Airways flight and went on to assault two police officers at the departures gate of Aberdeen International Airport.
The dad-of-two’s unruly actions caused a 70-minute delay to the flight – for which the airline was fined £7,000, at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Thief was so drunk she dropped stolen jewellery outside shop
A thief stole hundreds of pounds worth of jewellery from an Aberdeen shop – but was so drunk she dropped the stolen loot outside.
Kirsten Murison smashed her way into McCalls Clock and Watch Repair on King Street and grabbed pocket watches worth hundreds of pounds.
The 36-year-old also stole spirits from behind the bar in O’Neill’s and broke a woman’s window when she refused to give her any money or alcohol.
Man who spat on officer warned he could face jail
A man who stuck his middle finger up at police and then spat on an officer has been told his behaviour was “filthy”.
Andrew Burgess, 29, was drunk when he began to abuse police on patrol in Inverness before spitting on an officer’s cap and later attempting to headbutt him.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald branded his behaviour “filthy” and warned him “you could face a prison sentence”.
Brenda Page’s murderer Christopher Harrisson to appeal conviction
The ex-husband of Brenda Page is set to appeal his conviction after he was found guilty of her brutal 1978 murder.
Christopher ‘Kit’ Harrisson was the prime suspect in the infamous case for more than four decades and was finally found guilty at the High Court in Aberdeen earlier this month.
Judge Lord Richardson sentenced Harrisson, 82, to life with a minimum period of 20 years before he would be eligible for parole.
Teenager assaulted bouncers
A would-be clubber refused entry to an Aberdeen nightclub for being too drunk physically attacked staff and pushed her way inside regardless.
Rocha Lynch shouted at the bouncer “who the f*** do you think you are?” after being told she wasn’t getting into Prohibition at around 11.25pm on February 2 this year.
After barging into the Langstane Place nightspot, Lynch went on to assault another member of staff before police arrived to find her being restrained on the ground, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Prison ‘inevitable’ for driver who killed care home chef
A driver who caused the death of an award-winning care home chef as he changed a tyre at the side of the A90 has been told he faces an “inevitable” jail sentence.
Dangerous driver Graham Smith failed to keep a proper look-out on the A90 and struck John Grover with a Ford Transit van.
Mr Grover, who was also a Black Watch veteran, died at the scene after sustaining multiple injuries.
Pair caught with LSD worth £1,500 and more than 400 diazapam pills
A convicted drug dealer has found himself in trouble with the law again after being caught with more than £1,500 of LSD.
Brian Hetherington was found with the powerful hallucinogenic when police searched him on the city’s Hartington Road.
His co-accused Jamie Robertson, meanwhile, was found in possession of 13 boxes of Class C drug diazepam – 390 tablets in total – plus 19 loose pills.
Hetherington, 32, admitted dealing the drugs, but Robertson, 28, pled guilty to only possession.
Ellon man wrote ‘kill all police’ in his own excrement and blood
A man wrote “kill all police” in excrement and blood after he was arrested for causing a disturbance at an Ellon hotel.
Connor Burnett stripped off, bit his finger and defecated on the floor of his cell while being held in custody for attacking bar staff at the Buchan Hotel.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 22-year-old then wrote a series of threats to “murder” and “rape” police on the walls.
Burnett’s own solicitor described his client’s actions as “foul and disgusting”.
Three-times-the-limit drink-driver banned
A drink-driver who was three times the limit has been banned from the roads for a year.
Thomas Gordon, 41, had identified himself as the driver after police attended an incident on the A836 at Bonar Bridge.
Subsequent testing showed his breath alcohol level to be 68 microgrammes per 100ml of breath, more than three times the legal limit of 22 microgrammes.
Highland gangland boss back behind bars
A Highland gangland boss who returned to crime shortly after being freed from prison has been jailed for almost six years.
Ryan Ferguson was snared after nearly half a million pounds of drugs were found stashed in woodland near Alness.
The 30-year-old’s downfall came after police managed to crack encrypted phone messages, which revealed Ferguson called himself “Titanium Otter” and was leading the large-scale drugs operation.
Meat thief with 20 cans-a-day lager habit
A man with a 20 cans-per-day lager habit assaulted a Lidl security guard who tried to stop him shoplifting meat.
Robert Whyte was seen acting suspiciously upon entering the Lidl store on King Street in Aberdeen.
The 42-year-old was watched as he filled his backpack with “several meat items” and moved towards the exit.
Former Ross County player had to be pepper-sprayed twice
A former Ross County footballer who kicked off at home after taking a cocktail of painkillers and alcohol had to be pepper-sprayed twice by police.
Craig Kerr, 37, was in a drunken rage and left his girlfriend so frightened she had to run screaming from his home.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard the former professional footballer, who played for the Dingwall club for more than five years, is “ashamed” of his behaviour.
Drink-driver caught after police follow snowy footprints
A drink-driver who crashed and abandoned his car in the middle of the night was caught when police followed his snowy footprints into the woods.
Michael White, 44, lost control of his orange Vauxhall Mokka on the A93 near the entrance to Wester Micras, Crathie, and ploughed into a snow drift.
At 2am, police officers came across the abandoned vehicle with footprints in the snow leading off into a wooded area nearby.
Aberdeen man caught with £22,000 of cannabis
An Aberdeen man who was snared with £22,000 of cannabis in his car has been jailed for 14 months.
Christopher Knowles, 34, was caught with the drugs in Glasgow’s Townhead on June 30 2021.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard police had reason to stop Knowles’ car, which was stationary on the road.
Stonehaven babysitter who showed children porn given supervision
A Stonehaven babysitter who showed pornography to children as young as four has been handed a supervision order to help her change her ways.
Kirsty Sutherland also used the controversial website Omegle to make a sexually explicit video call with an unknown male while in the presence of two youngsters she was supposed to be looking after.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told Sutherland, 20, went into the bathroom before returning and telling the youngsters she had urinated for the man and exposed her breasts.
‘Your kids are dead’
A man who was barred from a high street newsagents told a shop worker: “Your kids are dead”.
Douglas Jaffray had been told not to enter Audrey’s Newsagent in Alness after his behaviour made a woman working there afraid.
But he entered the store anyway and was heard muttering to himself before making the statement, which the woman took as a threat.
Highland gamekeeper fined after shooting sparrowhawk
A Highland gamekeeper who fired a shotgun at a “precious” sparrowhawk has been fined £1,575 for the “abhorrent” act.
Rory Parker was caught firing two shots into the sky on the Moy Estate on September 16 2021.
A woman watching the incident unfold through binoculars saw the protected bird of prey plummet to the ground.
Drink-driver crashed after half a bottle of wine
A receptionist crashed her car into a bollard in Aberdeen city centre after drinking half a bottle of wine, a court has heard.
Megan Smith collided with the obstacle in the early hours of the morning on Market Street.
The 23-year-old had believed she would be safe to drive and said she’d only had “a glass and a half” of wine, but it turned out that amounted to around half a bottle.