Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Robber stamped on man’s head
A remorseless attacker battered and robbed a man in an Aberdeen street, then stamped on his head when he had nothing left to steal.
George Clark’s victim felt his nose and lips “burst open” when the 26-year-old pounded on his head while he lay helpless on the ground.
Clark had punched him three times to the head and dragged him onto the cobbles before demanding property and rifling through his pockets.
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the victim knew Clark, as well as a woman who was there at the time of the incident.
Man jailed for bloody ashtray attack
A man who helped mop up the blood of his victim after he viciously attacked him with a glass ashtray has been jailed.
Liam Carmichael, 26, viciously assaulted the man at a house in Aberdeen in a frenzied attack that saw the victim lose four pints of blood.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Carmichael struck the man twice across the face with a glass ashtray and the glass severed arteries in his head.
Carmichael’s solicitor claimed his client helped stem the bleeding with his jacket due to becoming “concerned” about the significant amount of blood the man was losing.
Female police officer sucker-punched
An ex-fisherman who sucker-punched a female police officer outside a Peterhead nightclub has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Bannor Masson left the woman scarred after he approached her from behind on the town’s Queen Street and punched her in the face at 1.30am on December 5 last year.
The cowardly 26-year-old then legged it, while his victim was left with a 1.5cm gash on her nose which had to be closed using surgical glue.
Masson previously pled guilty to a charge of assault to injury and permanent disfigurement.
Threat to publish ex’s sex videos
An Aberdeen man threatened to carry out a sick revenge porn attack against his former partner by uploading intimate videos on the internet.
Liam Fraser sent an ex-girlfriend a video of them having sex and told her: “You’ve had your chance, these are getting posted”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told his victim had no knowledge of the video being taken and did not consent.
Fraser, 20, also sent the woman a series of menacing messages with pictures and videos claiming it was her “last chance”.
Animal rights activist spared prison
A pensioner who repeatedly phoned a north-east slaughterhouse and called workers murderers has told a sheriff his experience in the dock was a “wake-up call”.
Animal rights activist Stephen Rae also threatened to vandalise employees’ cars during the calls to McIntosh Donald, an abattoir in Portlethen.
The 66-year-old had been warned he could face a prison sentence after he admitted making various late-night calls between November 26 2020 and January 6 last year.
The court previously heard the calls, made from Rae’s mobile phone, were answered by security staff at the Cookston Road meat processing plant.
Driver led police on 70mph pursuit
A driver has been handed a £1,575 fine and a three-year roads ban after he led police on a 70mph chase through Torry.
Liam Beattie, known as Moore, fled from police at 70mph in a blue Ford while overtaking numerous cars and causing other drivers to take evasive action.
The 27-year-old, who also didn’t have insurance, had “panicked” after seeing police, his defence agent told Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Ryan Diamond said the dad-of-two led police along Greyhope Road, Crombie Road, Mansefield Road, Victoria Road and Abbey Road at around 10pm on July 17 2020.
Steak knife stabbing in money row
An attacker who stabbed a man in the stomach with a steak knife has been warned he faces a prison sentence.
Jordan Rae, 24, knifed the man in Macduff following a row about money, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Rae was drunk and on his way to buy more alcohol from an off-licence when he encountered his victim.
He later told friends he’d just stabbed the man because “no one speaks to me like s**t”.
Pub boss sexually assaulted boys
A Highland pub manager who plied teenage boys with alcohol and cigarettes and then sexually assaulted them has been jailed for 18 months.
Alan Nimmons was the boss of the Railway Hotel in Tain when he targeted four young victims over a 10-year period.
Two of the boys have hit out at the sentence, calling it a “slap on the wrist” and branding him a “monster”.
Nimmons, of Manse Street, Tain, appeared for sentencing before Sheriff Sara Matheson at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Cheese wire murder TV appeal
A cheese wire which was used to murder an Aberdeen taxi driver was part of a cheese board set that was manufactured in England, a detective has revealed.
George Murdoch was garrotted with the unusual weapon, discovered at the scene of his brutal attack on Pitfodels Station Road in Peterculter, on September 29 1983.
But the 58-year-old cabbie’s death remains unsolved and now Police Scotland has taken its latest appeal for information to catch his killer nationwide.
Detective Inspector James Callander appeared on the BBC’s Crimewatch Live programme on Tuesday morning to discuss the cold case.
Reveller broke woman’s collar bone
A drunken argument in a kebab shop left a young woman with a broken collar bone after a man charged at her in the street.
Tyler Leisk’s assault happened soon after he and his friends “exchanged words” with a group of women in an Aberdeen city centre takeaway.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Leisk, 23, fled the scene following the 2am assault on Bon Accord Street but later handed himself into police.
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton said the woman and two friends had been getting food at Antalya Kebab shop on Dee Street when four men, including Leisk, made comments towards them.
Prisoner attacked security guard
A man who abducted his girlfriend and held a knife to her throat has had his prison sentence extended after he attacked a guard at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Erik Cameron, 37, was being transferred to a custody van following a court appearance in March 2019 when he became abusive and spat at a passing GEOAmey guard.
He then lunged at the man and attempted to headbutt him.
Thankfully, Cameron was double handcuffed and soon restrained by guards and taken back to HMP Grampian.
Clubber bottled on dancefloor
A violent clubber bottled and repeatedly punched another reveller in the middle of a nightclub dancefloor because he accidentally bumped into a woman.
Paul Coates took umbrage at a group of males who twice bumped into him and the woman he was with at Club Tropicana in Aberdeen.
The 31-year-old grabbed and punched his victim from behind before hitting him on the head with a glass bottle.
As the man fell to his knees in agony, Coates continued the vicious assault, repeatedly punching him until he was pulled away by shocked onlookers.
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Fireraiser torched woman’s home
A man who torched a house then told police he hoped children had died as a result has been jailed for three years.
Joseph Robinson was caught on CCTV stealing a container full of petrol from a garage just minutes before he drove into a woman’s car so hard the airbags went off.
When she drove away in fear he entered her home and torched it, later telling police officers he’d doused himself in petrol and hoped adults and children had died as a result of the blaze.
Robinson, 24, appeared via videolink from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit charges of theft, dangerous driving, wilful fireraising and drink-driving.
Double murder accused Aberdeen graduate to stand trial next year
The trial of An Aberdeen University graduate accused of murdering a mother and her daughter in Dundee remains scheduled for January.
App designer Andrew Innes allegedly killed Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her child Jellica Burke at a house in Troon Avenue between February 20 and March 5 2021.
Prosecutors claim the 51-year-old then hid the bodies under the kitchen floor of the property.
He is also accused of raping a seven-year-old girl and is due to stand trial early next year.
Funfair worker caught drug-dealing
A drug-dealing funfair worker has been ordered to carry out unpaid work after flogging cannabis outside a newsagent.
Christopher Taylor was caught after police received intelligence about drug dealing outside McColl’s on Hayton Road.
The 34-year-old had started dealing after finding himself short of money during lockdown when the amusement park where he worked shut its doors.
Taylor claimed ownership of almost £300 worth of cannabis officers discovered stashed in a car.
Man knocked on door holding bread knife… police officer answered
A man who knocked at a property while holding a bread knife was swiftly arrested – when police officers answered the door.
Henry Robertson had already knocked at the home twice – once with a screwdriver and once with a knife – so he wasn’t expecting the police to be there when he tried again.
The residents were at home in Mackintosh Road, Inverness, at around 12.40pm on November 17 2020 when they heard a knock at their door.
Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told Inverness Sheriff Court: “The witness answered the door and he saw the accused standing at the front door holding a screwdriver with a black handle.
‘Drooling’ driver banned from roads
A woman had consumed so much drink and drugs that she was drooling when police caught her behind the wheel of a car.
Karen Robertson, known as Morgan, could barely open her eyes and was slurring when officers found her on George Street in Aberdeen.
The 34-year-old was so intoxicated she later collapsed in custody and had to be taken to hospital.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told at around 8.45am on July 24 police noticed a black Vauxhall Zafira “causing an obstruction” on the city centre street.
Man asked police officers ‘how would you like to die?’
A man spat blood at police while claiming to have hepatitis then asked officers how they would “like to die”.
Police were called to help eject Samuel Bliss from an Elgin pub, but after he suffered a cut lip during his arrest he began to spit blood, claiming to have the infectious disease.
Bliss, 28, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit three counts of assaulting an officer and one of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told the court that the incident began at around 1.10am on April 17 of this year.
Driver crushed police officer with car
An Aberdeen danger-driver has been jailed after he reversed his car into a police officer following a high-speed chase.
Charlie Deans, 25, crushed Sergeant Graeme Smith against a police Land Rover, causing him crippling injuries, the High Court in Aberdeen has heard.
The court was told Deans’ uninsured Ford Fiesta hit speeds of 90mph during the pursuit, which started outside the Fountain Bar in Tillydrone and ended more than seven miles away in Blackburn.
Police officers eventually brought the car to a halt by deploying a Stinger device to puncture its tyres.
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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.
Drug-driving good Samaritan
A drug-driving dad caught driving with a young child in the car was being a “good Samaritan”, a court has heard.
Stuart Hunt, 39, was more than double the legal driving limit for cannabis after consuming the Class B drug the night before officers stopped him on the A96 near Inverurie.
Police were looking out for the Buckie man’s blue Ford Focus after receiving reports that it might be helpful in their search for a missing person.
However, when they pulled Hunt over, at around 6.10pm on September 26 last year, they didn’t find their missing person but rather a small child and the smell of cannabis, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Woman stole from man after romantic getaway
A woman stole her boyfriend’s bank card and withdrew £120 after he was arrested during a romantic hotel getaway.
Kelly Lily had invited her partner to stay with her at the Waterside Inn in Peterhead, but the evening turned sour when police turned up to arrest the man over an unrelated matter.
But 36-year-old saw an opportunity to swipe her partner’s bank card and used it to make two ATM withdrawals totalling more than £100.
When her boyfriend was released from custody and went to pick up his things from the hotel, he was told Lily had taken them.
Grandad shouted racist abuse at Dons game
A drunken grandad who shouted racist abuse at Celtic players at Pittodrie has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Ian Stewart had been in the South Stand during the clash between Aberdeen and Celtic on February 9 when he was heard making the racial comments.
The 55-year-old directed derogatory language towards Celtic players Jota, who he called an “Isis c***” and referred to him as “slanty-eyed”.
Stewart previously admitted a racially aggravated charge of breach of the peace.
Stalked by bank transfers
A divorced dad who has been repeatedly ordered to stay away from his ex-wife has appeared in court again after he tormented her by sending messages via a banking app.
Christopher Clark used the reference box on the payment screen to send his ex 16 messages, including an invitation to breakfast.
But in doing so the 37-year-old was breaching a host of court orders put in place to keep him away from the woman, who he’d previously been convicted of stalking.
Clark was originally banned from contacting his then-wife in October 2020 after a long-drawn separation, during which time he refused to believe their relationship was over.
John Bishop gig ends violently
A serial domestic abuser broke up with his partner at a John Bishop comedy show, assaulted an audience member in the taxi queue then attacked his now ex-girlfriend.
Alex-John Stephen had been at the popular comedian’s gig at P&J Live with his girlfriend before an argument at the end of the show led to them breaking up.
The 39-year-old stormed off to the taxi queue and ended up brawling with another man, kicking him to the head and body.
Stephen decided to return to the bar at the venue, where he saw his now-ex and accused her of causing the fight outside. He then assaulted her.
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