Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Thief threatened to stab B&Q workers
A thief walked into B&Q with an empty trolley, loaded it up with paint and flooring, and then tried to claim a refund for the items.
When staff refused the refund Robert Riddoch then tried to walk out of the Garthdee store with the unpurchased items.
The 36-year-old also threatened to stab the workers when they confronted him.
Man in court after pushing planks of wood into neighbour’s garden
A neighbourly dispute landed a man in court after he allegedly threw planks of wood into next door’s garden.
Ben Taylor was initially charged with hurling the wood over an eight-foot wall “at risk of injury” to a woman sitting in the garden, but that charge was dropped after he gave his version of events.
The 32-year-old told how things had escalated after a weeks-long battle which saw him and his neighbour “pushing planks of wood” between the Springfield Road properties in Elgin.
Chef turned drug dealer could get another chance to address addiction
A former Aberdeen chef who was previously offered help to beat his drug addiction has landed back in the dock after a police raid uncovered Class A drugs worth £880 in his home.
Christopher Tonner embarked on a life of petty crime after the collapse of his popular restaurant business and despite being offered support to beat his drug addiction last year he’s ended up back behind bars.
The 41-year-old’s firm used to operate both The Adelphi Kitchen and barbecue restaurant Cue until both closed during the oil and gas downturn.
Paedophile had indecent image of young girl as phone’s screensaver
A paedophile from Laurencekirk who used a browser to hide his internet history was caught with an indecent image of a girl as young as six as his screensaver.
David Campbell is monitored by the sex offender policing unit following a previous conviction and is subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act for an indefinite period.
The 31-year-old was also made subject to a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) prohibiting him from downloading or using any software designed to hide internet history or call and message logs.
Dad spared jail after drunken headbutt
A man who launched an unprovoked headbutt attack on a motorist as he queued for a car park ticket has been spared jail.
Jamie Riley ran at his victim, who was waiting to use the payment machine at an Inverness car park, headbutting him so hard that he fell to the ground, bleeding from the mouth.
The court was told that Riley was heavily intoxicated at the time of the attack.
North-east family in the dock after brutal home assault on man
A family has been ordered to pay compensation to their disfigured victim after they went to his home and dragged him outside following an altercation at the local pub.
Robert Cadger, 53, Nathan Cadger 24, and Chloe Cadger, 29, sat together in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court as the details of the brutal nighttime attack were read out.
The court heard that following an argument at the Beekies Neuk pub in Newmachar involving Chloe Cadger, the man was dragged from his home and beaten about the head with a metal doormat.
Man who attacked partner on railway platform spared jail
A “jealous” man who attacked his partner on a rail station platform after discovering she was planning a night out with colleagues has been spared jail.
Barrie McDonald, 42, called the woman a “filthy s***” and a “f***ing liar” after she informed him coworkers of both sexes would be at the event.
He later grabbed her by the neck and knocked her to the ground, punching her as she pleaded with him to stop.
Fish farm fined £800,000 after worker drowns
A fish farming company has been fined £800,000 after admitting health and safety breaches that led to a man’s drowning at a Highland fish farm.
Clive Hendry, 58, was crushed as he attempted to move from a boat to a floating structure called a Sea Cap in order to access the staff galley for a refreshment break.
An attempt to pull him onboard the structure failed and he slipped through his life jacket into the water and drowned.
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Brazen shoplifter blacked out 4×4 number plate
A facemask-wearing thief was caught three times in just 48 hours brazenly stealing electronics totalling £1,600 from stores in Aberdeen and Inverurie.
Peter Stewart tried to claim he was just the getaway driver but was caught on CCTV pushing trolley-loads of televisions and vacuum cleaners out of the shops.
The 36-year-old even blacked out the number plate of his Volkswagen Tiguan to avoid detection as he drove away from Currys and Asda, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Newly-released prisoner bottled tourist on Union Street
A newly-released prisoner who left a tourist to the city needing hospital treatment after a brutal attack with a glass bottle has been jailed.
Tony Emslie had just been released from prison and was staying at a hotel in Aberdeen city centre when he attacked the stranger, who was visiting family in the area and was enjoying a night out with his brother.
Emslie, 40, approached the man and out of the blue punched him in the face before striking him with a bottle when the tourist tried to defend himself, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Pair bought petrol can and started deliberate blaze at block of flats
A man has been jailed and a woman electronically tagged after the pair set fire to a block of flats in Aberdeen.
David Tosh, 35, and Elizabeth Milne, 29, admitted filling a jerry can with petrol before taking it to the flats and deliberately starting the blaze.
Firefighters had to evacuate residents from their homes at Ash-Hill Drive, Aberdeen, as smoke began to fill the communal area of the building in the early hours of the morning.
Prisoner did ‘celebratory dance’ following vicious cell attack
A prisoner who viciously grabbed a female guard by the hair and repeatedly assaulted her was later caught doing a celebratory dance following the attack.
Darren Warchol was remanded at Kittybrewster Police Office when two custody officers went to his cell in order to obtain fingerprints and photograph him.
However, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 33-year-old seized the female guard by the hair, pulled her to the ground and repeatedly kicked the woman to the head.
He also managed to punch a male officer during the frenzied attack.
RAF officer who caused head-on collision is banned from the roads
An RAF officer who fell asleep at the wheel and caused a head-on collision has been banned from the roads.
Ben Davies, a weapons controller with the Royal Air Force at Lossiemouth, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted causing the crash by driving dangerously and into the path of oncoming vehicles.
The accident saw the 20-year-old’s blue Ford Fiesta veer onto the wrong side of the road and collided with a car, leaving the other driver with whiplash and a broken wrist.
“I think I fell asleep”, Davies told officers at the scene of the crash.
Brutal boyfriend sunk teeth into girlfriend’s nose during row at hotel
A man sunk his teeth into the nose of his girlfriend after the pair got into an argument at an Aberdeen hotel.
Jay McIntosh, 22, grabbed the woman and pushed her face into a duvet before pulling her up and biting her on the nose.
When police arrived at the scene after being alerted by concerned hotel guests they found the woman with blood gushing from her nose.
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Thief who targeted Aberdeen delivery vans dispatched to jail
A serial thief who targeted delivery drivers and stole vans full of parcels has been dispatched to jail.
Alexander McDonald even ploughed into one delivery man, carrying him on the bonnet of the van as he accelerated away.
The brave delivery driver, despite being injured, gave chase but could not keep up as McDonald, 42, sped away.
‘Show off’ has driving ban removed early despite horrific 100mph crash
A man who was banned from driving for seven years after a 100mph car crash near Banchory could soon get back behind the wheel.
Corey McAlpine, who was convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, has returned to court to have his disqualification cut short.
The 28-year-old was seriously injured when he slammed into a tree while tackling a series of bends between 108mph and 112mph.
Woman almost ran over city wardens
A woman has been fined and given three penalty points after she almost drove into two Aberdeen city wardens.
Kim Fraser narrowly missed a group of males crossing South Esplanade East and then caused two wardens to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.
It happened around 3pm on May 14 2021, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fraser appeared in the dock and pled guilty to a charge of careless driving.
‘I’m going to kill you and eat your liver’
A man who threatened to kill a police officer and eat his liver has been ordered to carry out hundreds of hours of unpaid work.
Darroch Johnston shouted blood-curdling threats to “wield” a rifle, shoot officers and cut their throats with a knife.
When the 40-year-old was arrested and taken into custody, he told a policeman that he was going to kill him and eat his liver.
Scared woman texts friends after row with abusive boyfriend
A woman texted her friends to tell them she was “scared” after her abusive boyfriend took her into the woods following an argument.
Zharick Henderson pulled at his partner’s clothes, causing her to fall to the ground in an isolated area that was unfamiliar to her.
The 22-year-old’s girlfriend then sent a panicked text message to her friends, telling them: “I’m scared, I don’t know how to leave I don’t know how to get out of here, please help”.
Hungry son pulled a knife on his mum
A mum who returned home without any food for dinner was forced to flee when her hungry son brandished a knife at her.
Dickson Okumu, 30, admitted flying into a rage and grabbing his mother by the throat after she ignored his message asking her to bring back food.
As she ran into the hallway to escape him, Okumu then held up a kitchen knife – forcing his mother to flee the family home.
He appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he pled guilty to a charge of assault.
Man punched reveller in drunken row over stolen chip
A man assaulted a reveller in Aberdeen city centre in a drunken row over a stolen chip.
Philip Sinclair swiped a chip from a lady outside a takeaway on Langstane Place in the early hours of the morning.
But, despite the incident initially seeming to be in good humour, things quickly became heated and there was a confrontation between the 19-year-old and the woman’s boyfriend.
During the row, Sinclair punched the man to the face and followed up with a kick to the body.
Attacker caught after police discover shocking mobile phone footage
A prosecutor has told of how shocking video footage of a man subjecting another male to a life-threatening attack helped police bring the “vicious” assailant to justice.
Advocate Depute David Dickson told judge Lord Arthurson on Friday how detectives managed to arrest Andrew Wallace, 48, for attacking a friend in Aberdeen on August 27 2022.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Wallace struck his victim on the body and caused him to fall to the ground in a flat in the city’s Marischal Court.
Woman cleared of plotting to chop off finger of ex-husband’s new wife
A woman has been cleared of plotting to have the wedding ring finger of her ex-husband’s new wife chopped off – but has admitted trying to silence a witness.
Deborah Donald, also known as Leiper or Paton, was accused of hatching a plan to have drug addicts break into Danielle Paton’s home, cut off her finger and steal her wedding ring.
It was alleged that the 44-year-old, who was facing a charge of conspiracy, offered to pay the addicts £20,000 to carry out the scheme.
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