Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Celtic fan abused wife after Old Firm clash
A Celtic fan who attacked his wife after passing out drunk at the end of an Old Firm match has avoided a prison sentence.
Father-of-three Richard Cameron got so drunk while watching Celtic take on Rangers at his home in Fraserburgh he had to take a nap afterwards.
When his wife attempted to wake him later that evening and jokingly threatened to throw water at him he flew into a rage and assaulted her.
Spa break ends in violence
A drunken Highland mum attacked two police officers during what was meant to be a relaxing spa weekend at a top hotel in Perthshire.
Fiona Skinner was on a getaway with her daughter in Pitlochry when she clashed with police and hotel staff.
The 59-year-old from Dornoch was reported after causing a disturbance in the lobby of Scotland’s Spa Hotel.
Driver had cocaine in system
A drugged-up driver who jumped behind the wheel with cocaine in his system has been banned from the road for a year.
Ryan Main was pulled over by police in an unmarked car after they spotted him swerving between lanes in his blue Vauxhall on the A96 in Elgin on November 16 last year.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard how the 26-year-old was “fidgety” and had “glazed eyes” when officers pulled him over as he headed west near the Ricket Lane junction of East Road.
Careless driver’s Christmas crash
A Western Isles man who had an argument with his mother at his brother’s graveside on Christmas Day drove off and then crashed into a fence.
Jamie MacLean, 32, of Broadbay View, Back, Isle of Lewis, appeared by video link from Stornoway at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted driving carelessly by losing control of his vehicle and colliding with a fence.
MacLean also pleaded guilty to failing to provide two breath specimens at Stornoway Police Station.
Abusive boyfriend ‘a maximum risk to the public’
A violent abuser has been branded “a maximum risk to the public” after he threatened to kill his partner and her granny.
Patrick Stewart made the chilling threats towards his girlfriend of eight years after previously storming out to calm down following an argument.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard how the 22-year-old left the property after the woman made a derogatory comment about his late mother on November 29 this year.
Fearing he’d return home drunk and violent his girlfriend locked the door to protect herself and the couple’s young son.
Motor racing champion fined for spooking pony
A Scots motor racing champion has been ordered to pay a fine after spooking a pony in his loud Land Rover.
Lewis Proctor, part of team Beechdean AMR in the British GT Championships, carried out an ill-judged overtake and ended up in between a pony and a vehicle being driven behind it as protection.
Formerly a rising star of the prestigious McLaren Driver Development Programme, the 26-year-old left the pony and its owner panicked as he had to abandon the manoeuvre.
Opportunistic thief stole from student
A thief has been jailed after sneaking into a student’s flat in the middle of the night and helping himself to cash, aftershave and earphones.
Graham Milne spotted the insecure window on Loch Street in the early hours of the morning while the occupant had popped out to help a friend get home.
The 34-year-old clambered through the window of the ground floor property and helped himself to a “significant” haul of items from within.
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Van driver snorted cocaine behind wheel
A ‘frankly foolish’ family man snorted cocaine behind the wheel of the van and then made the decision to drive immediately after.
Iain Fordyce was spotted by a member of the public sniffing the Class A drug from a rolled-up banknote in the front of a red Peugeot van on a rural road outside Elgin.
He was then seen driving off from the scene at rural Wester Calcots Farm on the afternoon of June 4 2020, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.
Drunk man’s Christmas Day rape threats
A racist man given a lift home by police on Christmas Day subjected officers to such horrific abuse they were forced to arrest him.
William Allan had been staying at the Britannia Hotel in Bucksburn when police were called on Christmas Day due to him being drunk and arguing with other customers.
It was established no crime had been committed, so officers decided to give him a lift to his Aberdeen flat to defuse the situation.
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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.
Recycle bins bust-up
A man brandished a metal pole at his neighbour after becoming angry about the state of the recycling bins near his home.
Stewart Lafferty lost his temper after drinking alcohol on New Year’s Day this year when his neighbour stated that everyone needed to do their bit to “save the planet”.
The 41-year-old immediately became aggressive and shouted “come back here and save the f****** planet!”
He then picked up a metal pole, brandished it at his neighbour, and shouted at him.
Convicted kidnapper kicked man unconscious
A convicted kidnapper is behind bars after he carried out a sickening street attack which left his victim unconscious on the ground.
Gary Milne, 24, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted violently attacking a man in the city centre with a friend.
The first man headbutted their victim before Milne kicked him to the head and body, rendering him unconscious.
Upon being arrested by police, Milne called officers “f****** monkeys” and used a homophobic slur before threatening to “kill them”.
Disgraced prosecutor gets legal practise ban
A former senior prosecutor for the north and north-east who threatened one of his husband’s hair salon beauticians with deportation has been banned from practising law for two years.
The Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal gave disgraced lawyer David Wilkie-Thorburn, 55, a two-year suspension following a hearing earlier this year.
He was found guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in December 2019 of sending a racially aggravated, menacing message to Venda Rodrigues on April 7 of that year, claiming he could get her expelled from the UK.
She took the threat, which was sent on Facebook Messenger, to the police.
Noisy neighbour arrested
A noisy neighbour was arrested when he tried to kick down the door of the man who complained… while police were inside investigating the offence.
Daniel Mlynarski struck the door so hard he broke the latch and when police officers opened it they saw he held an empty glass bottle in his hand.
In a separate incident, Mlynarski, 24, was banned from driving after he was found to be behind the wheel while nearly six times the cocaine limit.
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that on March 12 this year Mlynarski had been drinking and playing loud music at the flat on Virginia Court in Aberdeen.
US murder trial date set for north-east man
A north-east man who’s accused of shooting his disabled wife dead in America will go on trial for her alleged murder in a matter of weeks.
Wayne Fraser, from Mintlaw, has been locked up in a Mississippi jail since his partner Natalie Ryan-Fraser, 55, was discovered dead a year ago.
He was arrested after police carried out a welfare check at an apartment in the town of Caledonia where they found the wheelchair-bound woman’s body at around 8am on December 30.
Fraser, who was aged 45 at the time, was led away from the Cedar Street property in handcuffs and a handgun was recovered at the scene, Lowndes County Sheriff has said.
Sex offender caught with internet-enabled TV
A high-risk sex offender who preyed on underage girls broke his court order when he bought an internet-enabled television using a benefit payment.
Jason Davidson was caught out when police turned up at his home unannounced and discovered the smart TV in the property at Waterloo Place, Inverness.
The 24-year-old was visited on June 16 2021 to check that he was complying with the conditions of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).
But it was then discovered that Davidson had failed to tell the police that he had a telly that was capable of connecting to the web.
Boyfriend broke into mum’s flat
An abusive boyfriend broke into his partner’s Aberdeen flat and shouted at her after he was told she’d cheated on him.
Robert Snelling ripped the security chain from the door and barged into the property to confront his partner with suspicions that she had been unfaithful.
The 26-year-old labourer hurled abuse at the mum in front of her crying one-year-old baby boy, branding her a “s***”.
Snelling angrily paced the Oldcroft Court flat as he told off his girlfriend for being in contact with other men, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
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