Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Workmen left their vans and fought with pedestrians who swore at them
Two workmen got into a fight with pedestrians, leaving a man lying injured in the road – a court has heard.
Hotel visitors staying in Inverness believed the pair, who were in work vans driving through slow-moving traffic, was “staring” at them as the group walked to buy alcohol.
Both sides swore at each other and when Krzystof Krawiec, 35, and Krzystof Olko, 38, were both challenged by the pedestrians at a red traffic light, the pair got out of their vehicles.
Men smashed hotel mirror and threatened to ‘knock out’ worker
Two men have been fined after an Inverness city centre hotel was vandalised and an employee was threatened.
Ashley Walker, 27, and Nathan Aspden, 20, had asked to use the toilet at the Mercure Hotel in the early hours of the morning.
But the pair became confrontational when they couldn’t provide their room number and were asked to leave.
Walker threatened a staff member and Aspden smashed a mirror.
‘Unfit’ driver took too much anxiety medication
A driver who was spotted veering across the road and hitting the kerb had taken too much medication, a court was told.
Jacqueline Glass was seen slumped at the steering wheel of her poorly parked car with the engine still running, before driving away – prompting a witness to contact the police.
A second witness saw the 60-year-old “veering all over the road” crossing onto the opposite carriageway and almost colliding with another vehicle.
Polite would-be mugger leaves empty-handed
A polite would-be mugger left empty-handed after a student told her he had no cash and his phone was dead before walking away.
Gemma Wright even pleaded “Anything I can take at all?” during the attempted robbery of the man on King Street in Aberdeen.
But the brave student, despite believing Wright had a knife, held firm and walked off.
On another occasion, the 24-year-old punched a woman in the face for calling her a “chicken”.
Man ordered to pay family feud headbutt victim compensation
A man who headbutted a family feud rival in a pub has been ordered to pay his victim £150 in compensation.
Stephen Wilson struck out at the man in the Gordon Highlander pub in Inverurie against a background of issues between the two families.
Despite not being directly involved in the feud themselves, the two men clashed in the bar when the victim snubbed an offer to join Wilson for a drink.
Inverness crime gang convicted after drugs worth £425,000 seized
A drug dealer is behind bars after police recovered almost half a million pounds worth of cannabis following an investigation targeting the illicit drugs trade in the Highlands.
Serafin Gaik, 30, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of the class B drug following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh and has been remanded while pre-sentencing reports are prepared.
The case came about after undercover officers took part in a months-long surveillance operation against targets suspected of involvement in the illegal trafficking of controlled drugs in the Inverness area.
Plumber broke vulnerable toddler’s thigh bone with spanner
An Inverness man attacked a toddler with a spanner, causing her “excruciating” pain as he broke the little girl’s thigh bone.
Liam Cummings, 29, was supposed to be looking after the vulnerable youngster when he carried out the assault in the autumn of 2017.
The plumbing and heating engineer was jailed at Inverness Sheriff Court today after a jury found him guilty of breaking the child’s femur.
114mph speeder banned from the roads
A driver caught doing 114mph in a 60mph limit has been banned from the roads for four months.
Aaron Mackenzie exceeded the speed limit by 54mph on the A95 near Grantown on Spey.
Mackenzie was driving his Audi S3 at the time of the incident but was told by Sheriff Gary Aitken: “You won’t be driving for a while yet.”
Pair handed 11-year dog ban after hare is killed during illegal coursing
Two men have been banned from keeping dogs after a hare was killed when one of them released a pack of lurchers to chase it down.
Steven McDonald, 38, and Richard Hanratty, 29, were disqualified from owning or keeping dogs after they admitted illegal hare coursing.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that on one occasion, McDonald released three dogs in a field near Oldmeldrum, which chased down a hare and killed it.
Five-times-the-limit drink-driver had knife ‘for protection’
A man who was stopped by police was five times the drink-drive limit and had a knife “for protection”, a court has heard.
Paul Stubbings smelled of alcohol when officers pulled him over on Alness’ High Street.
Later testing revealed the level of alcohol in his blood to be 110 microgrammes per 100 millilitres – the legal limit being 22 microgrammes.
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Man joined drug dealing operation after taking cocaine to cope with eating disorder
A man joined an organised crime group with a former footballer after he started taking cocaine to cope with his eating disorder, a court has heard.
Cameron Ross, 22, became involved with Alasdair Finlayson, 26, and others to supply Highland drug users with cocaine and cannabis.
Ross, of Invergordon, Ross-shire, was given a 23-month-long jail term for his involvement in the criminal enterprise.
Dad-to-be told ex he ‘hopes she dies during childbirth’
A father-to-be threatened to kill his ex unless he was given child access and told her he “hopes she dies during childbirth” after learning the baby wouldn’t be named after him.
Abusive Liam Norvil also threatened to “smash her home to bits” and told the woman he’d run away with their baby and “not come out alive” if she were to phone the police.
The 25-year-old subjected the woman to an nine-month catalogue of abuse between December 2021 and last September, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Man hurled racist abuse at dad’s Ukrainian neighbours
A Fraserburgh man has been fined after he hurled racist abuse at his dad’s new Ukrainian neighbours.
Ryan Watt shouted and swore at them before declaring “F*** the Ukrainians” as he battered on their locked door on December 28 last year.
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told Peterhead Sheriff Court how Watt had turned up at the St Andrew’s Street property in Fraserburgh in an agitated state and attempting to enter uninvited.
Army reservist who crashed off road was over drink-drive limit
An Army reservist who crashed off the road was over the drink-drive limit, a court has heard.
Alan Mackay’s car was found down an embankment off the B9176 Struie Road after they were called to reports of an accident.
When they traced the owner at his home address he provided a positive breath test.
Mackay, 33, appeared at Tain Sheriff Court to admit a charge of drink-driving.
Man punched cop who caught him urinating at Banchory Show
A drunken man punched a police officer who caught him urinating in a marquee at a popular Aberdeenshire farming show.
Graeme Anderson was seen staggering around at the Banchory Show, attempting to push over a fence before wandering into a marquee in the early hours of the morning.
Police officers followed him into the tent and found him urinating.
But on being told he would be given a fixed penalty, Anderson, 29, reacted angrily and lashed out.
Van driver jailed after killing care home chef
A van driver who killed an award-winning care home chef after failing to see the victim changing a tyre was jailed for three years today.
Graham Smith failed to keep a proper lookout on the A90 north of Aberdeen when he struck Black Watch veteran John Grover, who suffered catastrophic injuries.
A judge told Smith, 60, that the only appropriate sentence for the offence was a custodial one.
Man told receptionist he wanted to ‘taste human blood’
A Stonehaven man called his local doctor’s office and told a receptionist he was ready to “take someone hostage” and “loved Adolf Hitler”.
Henry Evans, 22, spoke to the woman at Stonehaven Medical Centre and warned her he was “ready for the kill” and wanted to “taste human blood”.
As the woman tried to calm Evans down and keep him on the call he announced he would “cut out” people’s tongues and “gouge their eyes out”.
Thief handed jail term for stealing electronics worth £1,000
A prolific thief who stole electrical items and food worth almost £1,000 from Fraserburgh shops has been jailed.
David Francome, 50, will now serve nine months after admitting eight instances of theft from the town’s Asda and Co-op stores.
The thefts took place between October 10 last year and January 25.
Peterhead Court heard how he targeted supermarkets in the town after relapsing into a drug habit.
Man accused of murdering north-east grandfather
A man is to stand trial charged with murdering a north-east grandfather nine years ago.
Tristan Simpson, 45, is accused of killing Robert Parks in Oldmeldrum on May 3 2014.
It is claimed Simpson pushed the 59-year-old down a flight of stairs.
Highland rapist locked up for more than six years
A high-risk, convicted sex offender was jailed for six-and-a-half years today after subjecting two women to rape ordeals.
Darren Napier, 33, carried out a sex attack on his first victim at a house in the Highland town of Fort William. He grabbed the woman by the body and pulled her hair before raping her.
Napier struck again more than a year later when he raped a sleeping woman at an address in Kennoway in Fife.
Chef left woman covered in blood after brutal Belmont Street attack
A chef who viciously attacked a lone woman as she walked home from a night out in Aberdeen city centre has been ordered to pay her compensation.
Damian Baranski, 36, knocked the woman – a total stranger – to the ground on Belmont Street before repeatedly punching her head and body.
Baranski, who was a chef at Rendezvous @ Nargile on Forest Avenue and is a father of three, had been out drinking that evening and claimed his victim had racially abused him.
Fiscal depute Jane Spark said the violent assault happened at around 4.15am on July 17 last year.
Reveller assaulted man who pointed out he’d spilt takeaway
A reveller assaulted a stranger who pointed out he’d spilled his takeaway down himself.
David McIntosh had been walking along Gaelic Lane in Aberdeen city centre with his late-night takeaway when he stopped to chat with a man who was having a cigarette outside O’Neill’s.
The pair, who were not known to each other, chatted amicably until the man politely pointed out to McIntosh that he had spilt his food down his clothing.
Woman kicked heavily pregnant daughter in the stomach
A mother who kicked her heavily pregnant daughter in the stomach three times has been told she must continue to behave.
Elizabeth Catto, 60, targeted her grown-up daughter as she slept on a sofa at her home on February 5 2021.
She shook the pregnant 23-year-old by the shoulders and the pair shouted at each other. When her daughter pushed her away, Catto aimed a trio of kicks at her abdomen.
Man attacked Lidl worker who requested proof of age for alcohol
A man who was asked to prove his age when trying to buy alcohol in Lidl later attacked the cashier as he made his way home.
Baby-faced Marek Roszkiewicz waited until for the supermarket worker to finish his shift before following him to a bus stop, where he punched and kicked the man.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 25-year-old also attacked another man later that day at a bus stop on George Street, Aberdeen, before resisting when police arrived to arrest him.
Drink-driver started singing and dnacing
A drink-driver who was more than four-and-a-half times the limit pulled over and started singing and dancing in the middle of the A90.
Deborah Millar was seen driving her white Fiat Punto in an “erratic” manner near Tipperty before pulling into a layby.
The 55-year-old then got out of her car, at which point it became “immediately obvious” to witnesses that she was under the influence.
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Drink-driver went to his car for warmth after nightclub ejection
A reveller who was thrown out of an Aberdeen nightclub on a rainy night has admitted drink-driving after he “went to his car for a heat” but then moved the vehicle.
Despite living within walking distance away, Kalyan Andru was spotted hopping into his car after he’d been ejected from ATIK on Bridge Place for causing a disturbance.
They saw the 29-year-old get into his silver Honda Jazz at around 2.20am on March 18 this year and called the police after the car was seen moving, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
The cyber security student later claimed he’d just wanted to warm up in the car as he was cold.
Drug-driver ‘inadvertently’ ate cannabis in chocolate bar
A man caught driving at double the legal limit for cannabis has claimed he “inadvertently” ingested the drug through a bar of chocolate.
Craig Wallace insisted he is not a regular cannabis user and only had it in his system after eating confectionery the night before he was stopped by police in Inverurie.
Sheriff Donald Ferguson branded his excuse “inconceivable”.
‘Exceptionally slow’ driver more than four times alcohol limit
A woman seen swerving all over the road but at an “excessively slow” speed late at night was almost five times the legal drink-drive limit.
Malgorzata Rzeznik’s car was crawling along the road and officers found her with slurred speech and blurry eyes when they pulled her over in the Ferryhill area of the city, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose said her red Honda Civic was spotted on CCTV being driven in an erratic manner along Union Grove and Willowbank Road.
Officers were sent to trace and pull over the 44-year-old at around 11.40pm on March 17 this year.
Man threw objects off tenement roof
A man clambered onto the roof of a tenement flat and hurled a glass bottle to the ground as members of the public walked by.
Lee Munro, 22, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted to acting culpably and recklessly alongside a group of youths, who were throwing objects from the flat and the roof.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard many of the items – such as the glass bottle thrown by Munro – smashed onto the street below.
Concerned for members of the public, Munro’s neighbours reported the behaviour to the police.
OAP denies causing ambulance crash
A pensioner has denied causing serious injury by driving into the path of a lorry which crashed into an ambulance transporting a patient to hospital.
Donald Sutherland, 80, is accused of driving his blue Dacia onto the A92 dual carriageway on the Aberdeen to Stonehaven road where a collision occurred with a Norscot lorry and an ambulance.
The road was closed for several hours as the emergency services dealt with the incident, which took place between the Bridge of Dee and Charleston.
Offshore worker fined for throwing cardboard cup at Hearts footballer
An offshore worker who threw a cardboard cup at Hearts footballer Barrie McKay has been fined £790.
Zack Griffiths, 25, is also forbidden from attending all football matches for three years.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Celtic faced Hearts in a match that the Hoops would go on to win 1-0.
Student moved car to avoid parking ticket – got caught drink-driving
A student made a “catastrophic” decision to move her car to avoid a parking ticket – and instead got caught drink-driving.
Georgia Bland has now been handed a roads ban and a hefty fine after she was found to be over the legal limit.
The 29-year-old was caught on Whitehall Place in Aberdeen in the early hours of May 5 last year, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Man jailed after claiming he had knife to ‘make dinner’
A man spotted with a knife on a Highland street told police he was on his way home to “make dinner”.
Robert McAllister was seen discarding the weapon in a bin after police were called to Dingwall’s High Street due to his behaviour.
When questioned by officers he said he got the knife from his “Aunty Mary”.
Men disfigured host when asked to leave house party
Two men have been ordered to pay compensation to their disfigured victim after they attacked him at the end of a house party.
Alexander Brown, 29, and Christopher Smith, 30, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted causing severe injury and permanent disfigurement to the man.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the two men attacked one of the hosts after they were asked to leave.
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