Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Window smasher embarrassed
An Aberdeen man who caused £2,000 worth of damage by smashing windows with a golf club says he’s prepared to “apologise to every person” impacted.
Keith Pirie, 22, smashed six windows on Jasmine Terrace in Aberdeen during a drunken early morning vandalism spree during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Pirie’s alcohol and drug use had increased during the pandemic as he was “going through difficult circumstances”.
His solicitor described Pirie as “extremely embarrassed” by his behaviour.
Drunk teen’s hammer threat
A drunken teen punched and brandished a hammer at a former pal during a late-night row in Westhill.
Jay Jamieson, 19, approached the male as he was eating pizza outside shops on Old Skene Road.
Both men, who were just 17 at the time and both with groups of friends, became involved in an argument and Jamieson lashed out.
He first punched the boy before producing a hammer and brandishing it at him.
Park strife
A volunteer helping to install benches in an Aberdeen park brandished a metal pole at a pensioner – and has been ordered to carry out unpaid work as punishment.
Hector Nicol, 59, had been assisting a pal in a volunteer community group at Coronation Park in Peterculter when the pair got into a row with a 70-year-old man.
Nicol initially tried to separate the men, but soon got dragged into the argument himself, grabbing hold of the pensioner’s jacket and threatening to “do him”.
Exclusive: Police officer accused of sex assaults
A serving police officer has been accused of sexually assaulting seven women at pubs and nightclubs in Aberdeen and Dundee.
Sergeant Ross Campbell faces a total of nine charges and is currently suspended by Police Scotland pending the outcome of the case.
It is understood a number of his alleged victims are police officers.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
Stun gun attack on wife
An Aberdeen man who repeatedly fired a stun gun at his new wife as she made a child’s birthday cake has been jailed for 18 months.
Slawomir Buczynski flew into a rage at the mention of a male ex-work colleague and fired the illegal weapon seven times into his partner’s body.
When the burly 37-year-old’s wife slumped to the ground in agony he kicked her as she lay stricken on the floor, the High Court in Glasgow was told.
Police were alerted after neighbours could hear the victim’s loud screams.
Pensioner on abuse charges
An Aberdeen pensioner has been accused of sexually and physically assaulting five children over a 29-year period.
William Morrice is facing seven charges spanning almost three decades involving three girls and two boys between 1974 and 2003.
The 78-year-old, who denies all the allegations, was unable to attend Aberdeen Sheriff Court due to a broken ankle and defence agent Lynn Bentley asked for the case to be continued in his absence.
Serial sex offender caught again
A serial sex offender caught with indecent pictures and videos of children as well as a secret Snapchat account has been jailed for two years.
Ryan Chlopuk, who had been previously placed on the sex offenders register, was caught out by routine police checks on his mobile phone.
The court had previously heard that police checks of 29-year old Chlopuk’s mobile phone in February last year uncovered 35 indecent videos and 13 indecent still images of children. Police also found an undeclared Snapchat account with the username “jakethedaddy20”.
Pepper spray ‘mistake’
A security camera fitter found wearing pepper spray in a holster has claimed he thought he’d bought a can of something entirely different.
Shane Stephen was found in possession of the illegal noxious gas as well as a knife when he was pulled over by police at the Asda superstore in Garthdee Road, Aberdeen.
His solicitor told Aberdeen Sheriff Court Stephen had bought the canister but instead thought he’d purchased something entirely different.
Cannabis haul in van
A man caught with £21,000 worth of cannabis in a hired van has admitted possession with intent to supply.
Andrew Bell was stopped by police in Clachnaharry in July of 2019.
When his vehicle was searched police recovered cannabis with a five-figure street value.
Drainpipe shimmy leads to broken ankle
A man breached a court order to stay away from his partner by climbing up a drainpipe at her address – and then breaking his ankle when he jumped down.
Kristoffer Livingstone had been made the subject of a non-harassment order, banning him from approaching or contacting the woman.
But the 39-year-old was spotted by witnesses shimmying up the drainpipe at her property on Bradley Terrace in Aberdeen before seriously injuring himself as he tried to come down.
80mph police chase
A young builder “panicked” after police tried to pull him over and then led them on a chase that was so dangerous officers had to abandon their pursuit.
Scott Cresswell, of Macduff, sped through Portsoy town centre as he was chased by police before hitting more than 80mph as he flew towards Cullen carrying out a number of unsafe overtakes.
Banff Sheriff Court heard how the Macduff man’s three passengers were left terrified as the silver Seat Ibiza weaved in and out of traffic, overtook on a blind corner, on double white lines and even while the vehicle ahead was indicating to turn right.
Drug courier caught with £136,000 of heroin and crack
A drug courier caught heading for Aberdeen with more than £136,000 of crack and heroin told police he was “obviously” involved in the supply of controlled drugs.
John Brennan, 41, from Liverpool, was in a taxi on the A90 at Fordoun when police carried out a stop on November 23 last year.
Brennan was a passenger in the vehicle and when officers told him they were going to search it for drugs he sighed, kicked a rucksack at his feet and said: “There’s stuff in the bag.”
Egg-smasher admonished
A man who smashed a carton of eggs across a Lidl worker’s face has escaped punishment.
Sean Carbo, 33, lashed out with shopping staple after being grabbed by the member of staff at Lidl on Greenwell Road, Aberdeen, on September 4.
The Swiss national, who is “prone to erratic behaviour”, previously admitted his guilt over the incident and a sheriff deferred sentence for six months for him to be of good behaviour.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
High-risk sex offender stalked student
A “high-risk” serial sex offender is behind bars today after he stalked an Aberdeen medical student by sending her sinister messages about Satan and claiming she was his wife.
Jon Coltart, 39, had never met his victim but sent unwanted messages to her for nine months and even claimed on Facebook that they were in a sexual relationship.
He was eventually arrested after turning up at the Foresterhill medical campus in a “hyper” state and saying he wanted to pay her a “surprise visit”.
Roofer’s 5pm heroin habit
An Aberdeen roofer who takes heroin each day after work in order to “stabilise” himself has admitted a string of theft charges.
Mark Parvin was described as a “functioning heroin addict” as his unconventional lifestyle was outlined in Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
He appeared in the dock after stealing a Post Office account card and using it to withdraw money at a cash machine.
Man groped lapdancer
A man has been placed on the sex offenders’ register after he groped a dancer at an Aberdeen strip club.
Scott Higgins, 37, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman at Number 7 Club in Aberdeen city centre.
He then fell asleep at the bar before threatening door staff that he would “slit” their throat.
He also pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner to staff.
Horrific slash attack in Peterhead prison
A prisoner savagely slashed another inmate at a jail with an improvised weapon before claiming he was happy “to do the time” and would do it again.
Matthew Duncan attacked the other man at HMP Grampian in Peterhead with a toothbrush with a razor blade melted to it.
A judge told Duncan, 25, that he was likely to face “a significant prison sentence” for his latest crime and warned that if he continued to commit such offences he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Forklift assault trial
A young farmer has been accused of acting like “a drug-crazed hitman” after he allegedly rammed the spikes of a forklift through the windscreen of a van then slashed the throat of the driver.
Stuart Allan’s alleged victim, fellow farmer Gary Stuart, agreed the alleged incident “was like something out of The Sopranos” as he gave evidence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court today.
Mr Stuart claims Allan, 31, also threatened to come after his family if he told anyone what had happened.
Day two coverage HERE
Broken bottle attack
A man brandishing a broken bottle lay in wait as his friend sent a chilling text to the victim informing him he was waiting outside.
Connor Burnett, 21, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted being in possession of a broken beer bottle which he wrapped in a plastic bag to use as a handle.
His friend then sent a message the victim telling him Burnett was outside his back door on Esslemont Circle, Ellon.
Dog puncher sentenced
A Peterhead man who was caught on video punching his dog has been handed a curfew and a period of supervision after he told a sheriff “it was just a stupid mistake”.
Footage of Brodie Burns attacking his Staffordshire bull terrier in Peterhead went viral and he was tracked down by police.
Burns, 25, later admitted repeatedly kicking and punching the pet in the town’s Berryden Road on April 24 last year.
Charity to help soldier caught with indecent images
A soldier caught with indecent images of children will be kicked out of the army will start over in England with the help of a forces charity, a court has been told.
James Milton, 33, had hundreds of indecent images of children and almost an hour of video footage on devices at his former home.
After admitting to having the illegal images, Milton’s army employment will be terminated but he will receive help from a forces charity, his solicitor told the court.
Drink-driving soldier crashed into fence
A soldier who crashed into a fence while more than three times the drink-drive limit has been banned from the roads for 16 months.
Kyle Innes, a serviceman based at Fort George, was spotted running a red light by police in Inverness but when they caught up and stopped him they discovered this was not his only transgression.
Innes, 20, appeared without legal representation to admit drink-driving and driving without due care and attention at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Ex-soldier who turned to alcohol to cope with night terrors
A former soldier turned lorry driver has lost his licence for drink-driving after he used alcohol to deal with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Army veteran Derek Turner turned to drink to help him sleep after being woken by night terrors.
But when a deer ran out in front of his lorry the following day and caused a crash, testing showed him to be over the legal drink-drive limit.
Turner, 50, pled guilty to a single drink-driving charge at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Post officer worker lied about robbery
A post office worker who was convicted of misleading police over a £24,000 knifepoint robbery is actually a “victim” of crime, her former boss has said.
Fiona Buchanan, 43, was working in the Crown Stores sub-post office in Inverness when a knifeman entered the business and ordered she hand over the five-figure sum of cash.
A major police investigation was launched but the robber has never been caught and the cash was never recovered.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group HERE.
