Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Man who flew from Asia to Aberdeen in £50 row may have fled country
A man who flew from the Philippines to Aberdeen to confront his daughter in a row over £50 has had a warrant issued for his arrest amid fears he has skipped the country.
James Richardson – an 80-year-old pensioner – was so incensed he scratched her car along with one belonging to his daughter’s partner.
The pair had previously fallen out after Richardson sent £50 for his daughter to pass on to his great-granddaughter, but which he claims was never received by the child.
Man downed cans of Dragon Soop before biting friend on the nose
A man who downed eight cans of Dragon Soop with his friend ended up attacking him and biting him on the nose, a court has heard.
James O’Grady had been taking part in a drinking game during the day with his friend when an argument broke out.
The 38-year-old then suddenly, and without warning, punched his friend in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.
Man caught with kitchen knife outside strip club
A man caught with a kitchen knife outside an Aberdeen strip club told police officers he had it “for protection”.
Alans Tancs was spotted marching down Bridge Street with the knife in his hand in the early hours of the morning by an alarmed member of the public.
Police were quickly informed and raced down the street to where Tancs was speaking to two women outside the former Silhouettes strip club, now Foxy.
The officers tackled the 20-year-old to the ground and found the blade in his gilet pocket.
Jail for Highland football coach who groomed and abused boys
A former Highland football coach who sexually assaulted two teenage boys has been jailed for 18 months.
Mark McAuley previously told the jury he was naive, nothing “sinister” had gone on when he shared a bed with the boys but insisted he would “do things differently now”.
But he was described today by Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald as “not naive but deliberate and calculated”.
Five points for man who reversed into unmarked police car
A man has been handed five penalty points after reversing into an unmarked police car in Aberdeen.
Richard Smith had not realised the car following him was a police vehicle and so started to become anxious.
When the officers pulled up directly behind him at Scotstown Moor car park, the 40-year-old panicked, thinking he was about to get jumped.
Repeat offender dodges seven year sentence over THIRD conviction
A criminal who admitted to being involved in the drugs trade for the third time has avoided being given a seven-year-long jail term.
Jay Paul Barry Thompson, 21, was facing the term for being caught with cocaine and heroin by the police in Aberdeen in March 2023.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Thompson had previous convictions for supplying narcotics – and how Parliament had passed laws declaring that people in his position should be given seven-year jail terms.
On Monday, defence advocate Gareth Reid asked judge Lady Haldane not to impose the sentence.
Man threatened to behead bookmaker after she finished work
A prolific thief has avoided a prison sentence after telling a female bookmaker he would wait for her to finish her shift and “cut her head off”.
Ian Gray appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted to threatening workers after being ordered to leave a number of shops in Aberdeen.
The 41-year-old also warned a Scotmid worker he would “slash” her face if he saw her in the street.
Ruthless romance fraudster tried to trick 84-year-old victim out of £81k
A serial north-east fraudster has admitted using romance in an attempt to con an 84-year-old man out of more than £80,000.
Cheryl Mitchell, also known as Joss, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court today and pleaded guilty to scamming a pensioner out of more than £30,000 and using his name to try and gain more than £50,000 in finance.
The 41-year-old – who has countless previous convictions for fraud against the elderly – made contact with the octogenarian through a dating website where she “pretended” to be in love with him.
Man led police on high-speed chase – because he was scared of going to jail
A dangerous driver terrified of going to prison was pepper sprayed by police following a high-speed chase through Aberdeen.
Sean Craig’s fear of jail was sparked by a threat against his life made by “well-connected” prisoners at HMP Grampian, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
When the 34-year-old disqualified driver was spotted behind the wheel of his girlfriend’s car by police he panicked and put his foot down.
Sex pictures pair who blackmailed men out of nearly £122,000 avoid custody
Two women who blackmailed nearly a dozen men out of almost £122,000 by sending sexual photos before claiming to be 15-year-old girls have avoided being locked up.
Rocha Lynch, 19, and Caitlin Rattray, 21, “exploited rules to protect women and used them to exploit men”, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
They lived the high life with their extortion money, using it to fund a lavish lifestyle that included designer clothes and luxury hotels.
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Kenyan tea pickers win ‘historic’ legal ruling
A judge has made a “historic” decision in allowing a compensation case brought by up to 2,000 Kenyan tea pickers against their employer to continue in Scotland’s highest civil court.
Lord Weir concluded on Tuesday that the workers could continue their action at the Court of Session to pursue damages against James Finlay Kenya Ltd, one of the world’s largest suppliers of tea.
Lawyers for the company, which was founded in Aberdeen in 1750, had gone to the court earlier this year to ask Lord Weir to stop the so-called ‘class action’ from continuing.
Police officer in court accused of assaulting woman in woods
A police officer is set to stand trial accused of assaulting a woman in woodland in Aberdeen.
Michael Tindall has pled not guilty over the incident, said to have happened in Cove Community Woodland, near Creel Wynd, on September 7 2022.
It is alleged the 37-year-old officer – who was off duty at the time – grabbed the woman by the clothing and wrist and twisted her arm behind her back.
Pensioner convicted of historic sex offences involving young girls
A north-east pensioner who carried out vile sex assaults on girls during the 1970s and 80s has avoided going to prison.
Louis Whyte was found guilty after a trial of a series of historic sex offences, including exposing himself to a young girl.
The 74-year-old was also convicted at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of sexually touching a 13-year-old through her clothing and trying to kiss a second teenage girl.
Teen scarred female police officer for life in vicious broom handle attack
A teenager has avoided a custodial sentence after he carried out a brutal broom handle assault on a female police officer that left her with permanent injuries.
Kai Gair, who was 16 at the time, repeatedly struck the constable across the head at a house in the Sandwick area of the Shetland’s mainland.
The officer – who was rushed to hospital by ambulance following the attack – has been left with a permanent bald spot as a result of scarring from the assault.
His solicitor described Gair, now 18, as a “troubled young man” who “knows he’s done wrong”.
Troon man’s foul-mouthed tirade of abuse towards police officers
A man’s foul-mouthed tirade of abuse directed at Aberdeen police officers has landed him in court.
Daryl Allan, from Troon, had been arrested over an unrelated matter, but it was his bad attitude and offensive words that resulted in criminal charges.
The 31-year-old hit the officers with a stream of verbal abuse and homophobic language, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
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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.
Jail for man after cemetery ‘square go’ left victim’s finger hanging off
A man who left his victim with horror injuries after a “square go” in an Inverness cemetery has been jailed for 36 months.
Scott Hunter – along with five other men – struck his victim with weapons, leaving him with four fractures in his skull and three broken fingers, one of which was hanging off.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told the brutal assault was the violent culmination of a feud between two Inverness families.
Man who raped sleeping wife jailed for seven years
A Peterhead man who secretly raped his wife while she was on strong sleep medication has been jailed for seven years.
John Lindsay raped the mother of his children on various occasions at their Portlethen home while she was in a deep sleep and would not wake up.
Michelle Newman, 39, bravely waived her right to anonymity when her ex-partner was convicted following a trial in order to speak out about what happened and help others.
Drunken reveller assaulted man after being thrown out of Drummonds
A rowdy reveller punched and kicked another man on Union Street after they had both been kicked out of a city centre pub.
Ryan Knowles knocked his victim to the ground with a flurry of punches before kicking him to the body as well.
The 38-year-old dad-of-two had become involved in a “carry on” in Drummonds, resulting in a number of people being asked to leave.
Baseball bat yob tells sheriff he won’t comply with punishment
A baseball bat yob’s belligerence could land him in prison after he brazenly told a sheriff he wouldn’t carry out unpaid work.
Campbell Freeman was appearing for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after being found on the way to his former boss’s house with a baseball bat on July 5 last year.
The court was told Freeman had just been sacked by his managing director and made threats towards her, resulting in the woman phoning the police.
Four appear in court after Inverness drugs raid
Four people have appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court on charges of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.
John Sabharwal, 25, and Shadrach Ekpo, 18, both from London, and Kerry McDonald, 45, Christina Swanson, 39, both from Inverness, made no plea and were committed for further examination and released on bail.
It follows a police raid on a house in the Merkinch area of Inverness yesterday.
Student caught with sick videos ordered to stay away from children
A teenage pervert has been ordered to stay away from under 16s after being caught with a sick haul of indecent images featuring children as young as three.
Jace Jojo, 19, was caught with more than 500 videos classed as category A, the most serious kind.
Altogether, his horrifying stash of illegal videos amounted to more than 31 hours of stomach-churning footage involving young boys, girls and adults.
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