Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
New dad jailed after police catch him with £18,500 of cannabis
A drug dealer who was caught with £18,500 worth of cannabis has been jailed for three years.
Michael Macrae, who has a previous conviction for drug dealing, played “a significant role” in the illegal trade, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
The 33-year-old previously admitted two charges of being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug on May 9 last year.
Woman sobs in dock as she admits killing motorcyclist in tragic crash
A mum wept in court as she admitted killing a motorcyclist in a crash on an Aberdeenshire road.
Naima Lightwood pleaded guilty to causing the death of Richard Smith, a carer, by careless driving in a collision on the A93 near Mains of Drum on October 25 2021.
Lightwood pulled out of a junction in the path of Mr Smith leaving the 43-year-old so seriously injured that he died at the scene.
Drink-driver caused 120mph fireball crash that left teen paralysed
A drink-and-drugs-fuelled driver ignored “petrified” pleas to slow down moments before a devastating fireball crash that left a teenager paralysed.
David Will was “showing off” to his two passengers when he hit speeds of 120mph on the A93 near Peterculter while under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine, a court heard.
Will’s high-powered Audi overturned and burst into flames after he lost control and barrelled into a dry stone wall.
Covid cougher’s jail warning after court told of ‘abhorrent behaviour’
A woman who repeatedly coughed in the face of a police officer claiming she would get Covid has been warned she could be sent to prison.
Courtney Smith previously admitted shouting and swearing at police in Aignish Drive, Inverness, and Burnett Road Police Station on September 8, 2020.
She also pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless conduct in the presence of a constable during the same incident and failing to appear at an earlier court hearing.
Crash victim had cannabis farm in living room
An Aberdeen man left with severe injuries after a horror car crash grew £29,500 of cannabis in his home, a court has heard.
Damian Kukulski had 25 cannabis plants growing in tents in the living room and bedroom of his property in Aberdeen, the city’s sheriff court was told.
His solicitor said the 37-year-old was a user of the Class B drug and used it to help cope with the pain of his injuries after the 2020 car crash.
Thief who robbed family on Xmas Eve ordered to pay them back
A heartless thief who robbed a family on Christmas Eve has been ordered to pay them back.
Marcin Sieracki, 34, broke into the home as the family spent Christmas with loved ones and made off with £8,000 of laptops, mobile phones, headphones, jewellery, watches and alcohol.
When his victims returned on Boxing Day they found their house ransacked, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Naked knifeman jailed after hitting former girlfriend with axe
An axe attacker who claimed he should have “chopped up” his university student ex-girlfriend has been locked up for more than four years.
Joshua Sutherland left the woman badly hurt after turning up at her home in St Andrews, in October 2021 and assaulting her.
The 20-year-old, who is originally from Inverness, fled before being spotted in just his underwear at a golf course in the town.
Serial offender jailed for cruel theft of couple’s wedding rings
A serial criminal has been jailed for more than two years after he broke into a home and stole a couple’s cherished wedding rings.
Ricky Davidson appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted carrying out a daytime housebreaking in the city’s harbour area, which netted him around £2,600 worth of jewellery, watches and computer equipment.
The court heard the 31-year-old took three laptops, a mobile phone and jewellery – including an engagement ring and the couple’s wedding rings.
Just minutes later, Davidson was seen trying to sell the stolen goods at a local shop.
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Drunken mechanical engineer spat in police officer’s eye
A drunk mechanical engineer spat directly into a police officer’s eye in Aberdeen city centre and bragged of being a “trained boxer”.
Officers tried to speak to Aaron Graham as he was seen running away from the scene of a disturbance but were met with a barrage of verbal and physical abuse.
The 26-year-old repeatedly told the police to “f*** off” and pushed one of the officers away.
And things quickly escalated, with Graham spitting, struggling and making a homophobic comment.
Man threatened to ‘burst’ neighbours and ‘boot them up the street’
A father-of-three who threatened to “burst” his neighbours and “boot them up the street” has been admonished.
Maxi Duncan hurled various threats in Portsoy’s Murray Place during the lunchtime disturbance on March 16 2020, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
The incident was sparked by a fallout over the rental of a horse yard.
Pair on murder bid charge after man allegedly stabbed multiple times
Two people have appeared in court accused of attempted murder and robbery after a man was allegedly stabbed multiple times in Fraserburgh.
Emergency services were called to the Watermill Road area of Fraserburgh late on Saturday evening in response to an incident, which left a 33-year-old male injured.
Two other men were arrested in connection with the incident and have now appeared in private in court over the matter.
Armed thugs handed lengthy jail terms over brutal Aberdeen attacks
Two armed thugs who carried out brutal attacks on two men within the space of a week were jailed for a total of more than 10 years.
Andrius Lukosevicius chased after a victim in the streets of Aberdeen and repeatedly wounded him in a life-endangering knife attack.
Lukosevicius’ co-accused, Mohammed Abdirahman, was part of a group that assaulted another victim four days earlier at a house in the city by kicking, stamping and jumping on him and striking him with a knife and a mug.
Aberdeen sugar daddy blackmailer strikes again
An Aberdeen blackmailer who targets men using sugar daddy websites has been caught doing it again.
Tiffany Anderson extorted hundreds of pounds from two men by threatening to expose their use of adult dating websites to their wives and girlfriends.
The 25-year-old blackmailed the pair into giving her nearly £700, while also threatening to reveal “adult content” that had been exchanged with her.
Two men in court after Elgin disturbance
Two men have appeared in court after an early-morning disturbance in Elgin that left a person seriously injured.
George Stewart, 18, appeared in private facing charges of assault to injury and assault to severe injury.
No further details have been released about his alleged victim.
Woman who thrust ferret at ex-boyfriend breathes sigh
A woman who “thrust” a pet ferret at her ex-boyfriend after walking into his home uninvited in the middle of the night has been admonished by the court.
Toni Ramsden went around to her former partner’s home in Turriff, clutching a five-month-old ferret and started shouting.
The now separated couple had bred ferrets as a hobby during their five-month relationship and Ramsden was returning the last one, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
Teen got ‘spectacularly drunk’ at and punched police officer
A teen got so drunk at Aboyne Highland Games that he punched a police officer in the face.
Brodie Paterson was reported to police officers after being found so intoxicated he was “unable to walk” at the popular event last summer.
The 19-year-old, who was 18 at the time, inexplicably became abusive towards the officers as they tried to help him get home safely.
Aberdeen stalker admonished after sending victim sex act photo
An Aberdeen stalker who forwarded an image of herself carrying out a sex act on a man has been let off by a court.
Toni Nicol harassed her victim by calling him more than 50 times in one morning and threatening him saying “It’s about to get worse if you don’t call me”.
As calls and messages flooded the man’s phone, the 31-year-old threatened to smash up his car and “burn his mum’s house down”.
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Offshore worker jailed after £550k drugs haul found in Aberdeen home
A former offshore worker was jailed for three-and-a-half years today after police discovered a drugs haul worth £550,000 at his home.
Lee Macrory, 29, was caught with a cache of cocaine and heroin during a search of the address at East Main Avenue, in Aberdeen.
A judge told Macrory at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You have pleaded guilty to two serious charges, involving being concerned in the supply of two different Class A drugs, namely cocaine and diamorphine or heroin.”
Lord Scott said: “Your senior counsel has acknowledged the gravity of the charges.”
Danger driver who almost killed child avoids prison
A dangerous driver who almost killed a child in a horror car crash has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.
Kieran MacPherson lost control of his car as he was overtaking on a bend and caused the crash that left a nine-year-old girl fighting for her life.
The 24-year-old’s Fiat Abarth struck another car and sent that driver careering into the girl’s father’s Nissan Juke on the A941 between Dufftown and Craigellachie on February 23 2020.
Trial of policeman accused of sending explicit photos continues
A police officer accused of sending explicit images of himself to a domestic abuse victim had his home searched and phone seized by anti-corruption officers, a trial has heard.
Kyle MacKinnon was a serving police officer based at Keith when he was sent to assist colleagues at an incident of domestic abuse on November 28 2018.
The following day he is alleged to have added the victim of that abuse on Snapchat before going on to have multiple conversations with her over the social media app.
Museum chairman ordered to hand back fraction of £19,000 he embezzled
A museum has hit out after its former chairman and treasurer embezzled almost £19,000 – but was only ordered to repay £2,000.
William Bound pocketed the cash belonging to Groam House Museum, which relies on fundraising and public donations to survive, over almost three years before he was caught out.
The 75-year-old faked invoices in an effort to hide his dishonesty and stashed thousands of pounds across several bank accounts he had.
Ex-wife of domestic abuser still terrified a decade on
A violent husband who put his wife in the hospital during a campaign of abuse that lasted for a decade has finally been brought to justice.
John McGrath’s victim says she remains “terrified” of her ex-husband even though they’ve been estranged for 10 years.
The 53-year-old abused his wife over a prolonged period, with many instances stemming from his dislike of her cooking, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
Crash-driver hurled racist abuse at police
A driver who rang the police for help after crashing his car hurled abuse and vile threats at the officers who tried to arrest him.
Ujjal Hussain told the officers he was “tired of white people” and called them “f****** Nazis” before making threats to “chop off the head” of one officer and “rip apart” his family.
Banff Sheriff Court was told he made the violent threats at the site of his crash near Turriff and then en route to Fraserburgh custody suite on January 11 this year.
Driver banned after taking cannabis then giving friend lift
A man has been banned from the road after deciding to give a friend a lift while under the influence of cannabis.
Ben Nicoll was pulled over by police officers on the A96 near the P&J Live arena during the evening of May 7 last year.
Officers detected a smell of cannabis and, despite a negative search, Nicoll, 32, failed a drug test and was arrested.
Fiscal depute Lydia Ross told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around 9.45pm.
Van driver’s ‘momentary loss of concentration’ killed motorcyclist
A “momentary loss of concentration led to a family paying an unbelievable price” when a motorcyclist was killed by a fellow enthusiast.
Van driver Gary Lowe pulled out into the path of father-of-two Paul Fairbairn, sending him over the handlebars and to the ground.
Appearing for sentencing at Inverness Sheriff Court today, Lowe, 56, admitted causing the motorcyclist’s death by careless driving and was fined £2,075. He was also banned from driving for 20 months.
Granny’s plea to nurse after killer grandson ‘lost it’
A drunken killer who brutally murdered his own grandmother in a vicious attack at her Forres home has been jailed for life.
Scott McCulloch, 26, repeatedly punched Patricia Bitters and stamped on her as she lay bleeding.
Before she died, the 84-year-old victim opened her eyes and confirmed to a nurse that her grandson had assaulted her.
When she was asked why, she responded: “I don’t know. He lost it”.
Former Highland football coach convicted of child sex charges
A former Highland football coach broke down in tears in the dock today as a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing boys in his care.
Mark McAuley, who ran after-school football clubs across Easter Ross and Sutherland, was warned by Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald that he faced a prison sentence after the jury took just over two hours to reject his version of events.
He had denied two charges of sexually assaulting a child, one of engaging in sexual activity with or towards a child and two of directing sexual verbal communications to children.
The five charges related to events that took place between June 2016 and April 2019.
Holidaymaker killed when loose plank of wood hit vehicle
A retired vicar touring the Highlands in a campervan was killed when a scaffolding board that was protruding from a passing pickup truck crashed through his windscreen.
Philip Walker, 72, was driving with his wife on the Isle of Lewis between Barvas and Leurbost in September 2019 when the tragedy occurred.
The driver of the truck, 54-year-old Donald Maclean, of Sandwick, near Stornoway, has now pleaded guilty to causing Mr Walker’s death by careless driving.
Women posed as underage girls to blackmail men out of £122,000
Two women blackmailed almost a dozen men out of nearly £122,000 by making them send pictures of their genitals – and then claimed to be 15-year-old girls.
Rocha Lynch, 19, and Caitlin Rattray, 21, used the vast sums of money they extorted from their victims to fund a lavish lifestyle that included designer clothes and luxury hotels.
One victim was so terrified his girlfriend would find out he handed over £115,000 of his dead mother’s inheritance, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
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