Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Patient abused medical staff
A man has been fined after he abused Aberdeen hospital workers who were trying to mend his injuries.
Ere ‘I Am Christ’ Grant was arrested by police after he lost his temper and berated staff at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for “asking him questions” about his injuries.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 35-year-old repeatedly swore at a nurse and verbally abused a doctor for five minutes as he tried to help him.
Grant had been brought to the hospital in an ambulance after being struck on the head with a weapon.
Caravan assault
A cleaner who drunkenly attacked a workmate during a drinking session in a caravan left his former friend permanently scarred.
David Stewart, 50, and his victim, a fellow cleaner, were enjoying a post-work drink at the caravan in Kinloss when they drunkenly fell out and things got physical.
Neighbours at Seaview Caravan Park heard shouting and swearing and noted both men were upset but Stewart, who couldn’t remember the incident later, claimed they’d “just had too much drink”.
Nursery teacher was ‘reckless’
A nursery worker at a Highland school has appeared in court in connection with the “reckless” way she restrained young children.
Johanna Fraser, 32, physically held on to the two youngsters in a way she was not trained to do, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
She was reported to a senior staff member by a colleague and the complaint was later passed to the police.
The school where Fraser worked cannot be named for legal reasons.
Barber banned
An Aberdeen barber shop owner has been banned from the road after being clocked doing 74mph in a 30mph zone.
Daniel Cleavin was caught doing almost two-and-a-half times the speed limit on Causewayend in Aberdeen.
The 32-year-old, who runs The Cleavin Barber Club in Cove Bay, was driving his white Jaguar XF at the time on April 3 2019.
Vicious attacker jailed
A “vicious” attacker who caused a policeman six months of memory loss and left a taxi driver unable to work for a month has been jailed.
Thomas Stewart ruined the second chance given to him by a sheriff who had said he would avoid prison time if he proved he could behave himself.
But the 28-year-old reoffended before returning to the dock to be sentenced for punching a taxi driver and headbutting a police officer in September last year.
Trio deny paint protest
Three people have appeared in court in connection with an oil protest in which paint was thrown over an Aberdeen office building.
Buckets of bright orange paint were thrown over the frontage of the Silver Fin building on Union Street on November 14 as part of a campaign by climate change activists.
The protest, which was linked to Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, targeted Barclays, which has offices inside the building, and Shell, which is also moving into the premises.
Serial domestic abuser behind bars
A serial domestic abuser has been jailed for a terrifying attack in which he repeatedly battered his girlfriend’s head off of a concrete step.
Michael Hannah, 40, slammed the woman’s head off of the steps at his Aberdeen flat stairwell then paced up and down shouting her name as she ran off to call for help.
Concerned neighbours in Torry’s Farquhar Road were awoken to the sounds of the woman’s crying on the evening of November 7 this year, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Neighbour breached court order
An Ellon man has been jailed after he burst into his neighbour’s flat and assaulted him – just days after being ordered by a court not to approach him.
Simon Obuzor, also known as Williams, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted breaching his non-harassment order by walking into the home of his neighbour and repeatedly punching him.
The court heard the 34-year-old’s attack on the man was only halted when he was pulled off of him by a friend.
Obuzor had been made subject to an order by the court not to go near the man only 11 days before.
Drink-driving suspect found hiding in grass
A student suspected of drink-driving was found lying in grass half a mile away from the scene of a car crash, a court has heard.
Both airbags on Jake Smith’s car had deployed when it was found on an embankment near the A9 – but he was nowhere to be seen.
When police eventually found him – apparently trying to hide – and took him into custody, he refused to be breathalysed.
Take that sucker
A suspected drink-driver found stuck in a ditch repeatedly sucked the police breathalyser instead of blowing into it.
Rugby player Christopher Adam was seen driving “erratically” through Inverurie with a flat tyre before ending up in the ditch.
After initially failing a roadside breath test, the 40-year-old did not comply with the formal procedure at the station.
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Dishonest handyman
A dishonest handyman who stole a pensioner’s bank card after carrying out work at her home has been jailed.
Brian Ward took advantage of the 74-year-old woman after she handed over her bank card and pin number in good faith, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Instead of completing the chip and pin transaction in his van as promised, the 30-year-old drove off.
Tourist sentenced over horror A96 crash
An Italian tourist who killed five people including his young son in a horrific crash on the A96 has been jailed for three years.
Alfredo Ciociola was driving a Fiat minibus on the A96 near Keith four years ago when he crossed to the wrong side of the road and collided head-on with a Nissan X-Trail SUV.
The driver of the other car Morag Smith, 44, was severely injured and her three passengers Edward – known as Ted – Reid, 63, from Macduff, and Evalyn Collie, 69, and Audrey Appleby, 70, from Aberchirder, all died.
Woman convicted of grope assaults
A disabled man who was sexually assaulted by a woman sent to look after him told a court the incident was “like something out of a horror movie”.
Gail Fraser grabbed the pensioner by his genitals at an assisted living complex flat in Aberdeen and then, minutes later, also groped his partner’s breast.
The former cleaning supervisor, 39, had denied two charges of sexual assault but was found guilty following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Woman clawed partner’s face
A woman who “clawed” her partner’s face, neck and body during a Valentine’s Day row has been ordered to stay away from him.
Iwona Lastowska was made subject to a 12-month non-harassment order preventing her from approaching or contacting the man.
She was also fined £245 over the domestic assault, which took place earlier this year.
Delivery driver blames ‘tight deadlines’ for speeding
A delivery driver caught going at double the speed limit through a Highland village was attempting to meet “tight deadlines”, a court has heard.
Craig Taylor’s vehicle was stopped by police after he was clocked doing 60mph along a 30mph stretch of the A9 at Stafford Street in Helmsdale.
He admitted a single charge of careless driving at Tain Sheriff Court.
Woman’s hair ripped out
A woman had a large clump of hair ripped from her scalp when her boyfriend trapped it in a door during a drunken rage.
Company director Myles Ridyard, 33, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted dragging his former partner through a door after losing his temper.
As the door closed behind her, the woman’s hair got caught and a “large clump” was pulled from her scalp.
Ridyard then shoved the woman to the floor, causing her to strike her face.
Pram attack
A man has been jailed for three years for a brutal attack that put his partner in hospital for eight nights with a broken arm and a bleed on the brain.
Ian Grant’s victim needed stitches and was left with hearing problems after he knocked her to the ground with a pram before repeatedly kicking her in the head.
Police were called to the scene by neighbours, who heard the commotion and found the women “covered in blood”.
Facemask prompts assault at Union Square
A man who headbutted a stranger in Union Square in a row about wearing a facemask has been ordered to pay his victim £200.
Owen Smith’s 24-year-old victim had been sitting between Starbucks and Levi’s when he was approached by Smith and another male in December last year.
After a few aggressive comments about the man’s facemask, Smith headbutted him.
Inverness sex attacker who followed woman home from Tesco is jailed
A terrifying sex attacker who tried to rape a young woman after he followed her home from a supermarket has been jailed for four years.
Wayne Stewart sexually assaulted and robbed the 21-year-old woman in her Inverness home after he followed her as she returned from Tesco and forced his way into her flat.
The 42-year-old put his victim in a headlock and dragged her into a bedroom before putting a hand over her nose and mouth, restricting her breathing.
During the struggle, he grabbed her mobile phone and threw it before pulling up her skirt.
Plumbing firm fined over manhole accident
A north-east plumbing firm has been fined more than £4,000 after a blind man fell through an open manhole.
Stonehaven company A&R Services admitted that a tradesman had failed to put the required safeguards in place – which resulted in the 62-year-old falling to his injury.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the victim was left with a large hematoma, swelling and bruising as a result of the incident.
He died only days later – but the fall was not attributed to his death, the court was told.
Woman fined for ‘disgusting’ taunts
A woman who used social media to threaten and taunt a mother about her autistic child has been fined after she was unable to behave herself.
Naomi Cowie sent a barrage of offensive messages about the woman’s non-verbal autistic son on Facebook Messenger.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how the 31-year-old also messaged her victim stating that she “hoped her kids would die”.
Drink-driver had child in car
A serial drink-driver has been banned from the roads yet again after he was caught at more than five times the limit with a child in the car.
Steven Small, 32, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted driving his white Mercedes-Benz in Aberdeen while “significantly” over the alcohol limit.
When police stopped Small in the Rubislaw area of the city they also found he had a child in the car.
Upon being tested it was discovered he was more than five times the legal drink-drive limit.
Killers locked up
Two robbers who binged on drugs and alcohol and then killed a young man at a party have been locked up for a total of almost 19 years.
Scott Hector, 20, was stabbed to death at a home in Marischal Court, Aberdeen, on April 2 2021.
Sean O’Halloran, 20, admitted to the murder of Mr Hector and 18-year-old Conor Adams pled guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
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Teacher accused of sex crimes
A Shetland primary teacher will face trial next year over allegations of historic sexual offences against six pupils.
Stephen Tait, 40, is accused of six charges of acting in a lewd, indecent and libidinous manner towards six young boys while employed as a teacher at the school more than a decade ago.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Tait’s accusers are now adults but were all aged between eight and nine at the time of the alleged offences.
Woman’s face smashed on ground after she laughed at attacker
A woman who was laughed at in the street grabbed her victim by the hair and repeatedly smashed her face into the ground.
Annalie Hercher left the woman with a concussion and a broken nose that required surgery.
A court heard Hercher, who was drunk at the time of the attack, was “disgusted” by her own behaviour.
‘Extremely reckless’ man ran between cars on dual carriageway
Motorists had to swerve to avoid hitting a drunk pedestrian who was running between cars as they passed him on the notorious A9 dual carriageway.
The incident happened just minutes after Terence Urquhart, 34, had grabbed the steering wheel of a taxi several times in an effort to direct it into oncoming vehicles while on the Kessock Bridge and near Tore on the Black Isle.
He then exited the taxi and began running around between vehicles and striking them as they passed.
Soldier ordered to pay compensation for homophobic attack
A soldier who carried out a homophobic attack that was caught on CCTV in Inverness city centre has been ordered to pay his victim compensation.
Ian Mulroy and fellow military man Thomas Howells targeted a man on his way home from a night out last December.
Howells pushed the man’s chips in his face and called him homophobic slurs before Mulroy knocked him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly.
Stalked by Strava
A “heartbroken” Moray man who refused to accept his relationship was over stalked his ex-girlfriend for almost nine months using various apps.
Daniel Mann resorted to sending messages via the exercise-tracking app Strava after she failed to reply to countless others via Facebook, Twitter and email, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.
The 40-year-old ignored police warnings not to contact her, sending an email in which he apologised for not moving on and being such a “selfish b******”.
Fiscal depute Shamiela Ghafar said the messages persisted from March 1 to September this year.
Serial rapist guilty of terrorising Aberdeen women for 15 years
A serial rapist who abused nine women and shot a video of himself sexually assaulting a victim has been jailed for an “appalling catalogue of offences”.
Stephen Kidd, 36, was convicted by a jury on Friday of terrorising women in the Aberdeen area between June 2005 and August 2020.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Kidd subjected his victims, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, to horrifying sexual and physical assaults.
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