Weekend court roll – oil worker and fake taxi driver unmasked as perverts

Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.

Savage Aberdeen city centre attacker left victim with nose split apart

A violent thug has been caged over two vicious attacks on men in Aberdeen city centre in the early hours of the morning.

Liam King left one of his victims so severely injured the cartilage and his septum were visible through a gaping nose wound.

The other was knocked out in a seemingly out-of-the-blue attack on Langstane Place.

King, 23, is now behind bars after admitting the disturbing attacks.

Man avoids prison despite being found with £260,000 of cannabis

A man caught with almost £260,000 worth of cannabis during a police raid has avoided going to prison as he wasn’t a “lynchpin” in the drug operation.

Dillon Davidson, 27, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted being involved in the “storage” of cannabis which was found during the raid of a flat in the Cornhill area of Aberdeen.

It was stated that Davidson immediately directed drugs officers to a large shopping bag within the flat where police found more than 15kg of cannabis.

His solicitor told the court that Davidson had never denied his involvement, but that it had been a “huge surprise” to his client when he discovered the total amount of drugs.

Crown Street high-speed driver who caused horror crash is jailed

A man who ploughed his car into the side of a building with his girlfriend in the passenger seat has been told he’s “lucky” he didn’t kill someone.

George ‘Brian’ Alden was convicted at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last month of causing serious injury to Chantelle Eisma-Clinch by driving his red Citroen C4 at high speed as he was pursued by police cars.

Alden, 36, pushed his car to more than double the speed limit before mounting a pavement and smashing into railings on Crown Street in the city centre of Aberdeen on October 11 2022.

Jurors were shown footage of Alden’s car as it struck the building before it flipped over and ended up on its roof in the middle of the street.

Aberdeen boy, 16, admits binding cat’s legs together and torturing it

A 16-year-old boy from Aberdeen has admitted torturing a cat in a series of disturbing acts.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, carried out cruelty at an address in the city.

The boy admitted causing the cat unnecessary suffering by binding its rear legs together with a hair bobble or similar item.

He also exposed the cat to water to such an extent the animal’s body temperature was lowered, causing hypothermia and its breathing to deteriorate.

Violent serial rapist jailed over attacks in Aberdeen and Dundee

A violent serial rapist who attacked women in Aberdeen and Dundee has been caged for more than a decade.

James Henderson raped his first victim in 2008 and continued to carry out sex attacks until 2021.

Henderson, 45, had denied a series of charges during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh but was found guilty, in November, of three offences of rape and a further attempted rape.

Henderson has now been sentenced to 14 years behind bars, followed by a further  four years of extended sentence supervision.

Danger driver spared jailed over mystery blackout

A motorist who lost consciousness in his car and drove head-on into another motorist, leaving him disabled, has been spared a jail sentence.

Mystery still surrounds why Stephen Hughes appeared to fall asleep at the wheel while driving near Carrbridge in the Highlands on October 3 2018.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told the 37-year-old’s Fiat 500 veered onto the opposite carriageway and struck a Mitsubishi Outlander, causing devastating injuries to the driver.

The case has taken more than five years to resolve in court because of medical examinations carried out by the defence.

Former police officer and nightmare neighbour had knife

A former police officer hurled abuse at his neighbour and threatened her brother while brandishing a knife, a court has heard.

Donald Bain shouted that his neighbour was a “c***” and a “w****” leaving her so scared that she called her brother to her home.

But when the relative arrived, Bain made threats to shoot him and later emerged from his house brandishing a knife.

Bain, 72, stood trial at Inverness Sheriff Court over the incident that took place in Birchwood Road, Inverness, on August 5 last year.

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Two charged after resident, 91, allegedly assaulted at Home Farm Care Home on Skye

Two men have been charged after a resident was allegedly assaulted at the Home Farm Care Home on Skye.

An investigation was launched after a 91-year-old man was reportedly attacked.

Care Inspectorate officials were contacted after concerns were raised at the NHS Highland-operated care home.

Now police have confirmed two men have been charged in connection with the alleged incident.

Amateur sleuth on harassment charge after tailing the wrong woman

A hapless Huntly amateur private investigator has appeared in court accused of harassment – after he started tailing the wrong woman.

James Douglas agreed to help a friend find out if his girlfriend was being unfaithful and offered to follow her and take photographs.

However, in a series of events described in court as “acutely stupid”, the 41-year-old followed the wrong person and instead was caught taking photos of an off-duty HMP Grampian worker.

The woman – Miss J – was alerted to Douglas and another male by a family member, who had witnessed them parked near her property in Peterhead.

Aberdeen coach driver avoids driving ban after caught speeding

An Aberdeen coach driver who admitted speeding at 90mph on the A952 has avoided a driving ban.

Szymon Zamierowski had been facing a charge of dangerous driving after being caught speeding on the Mintlaw to Toll of Birness road last year.

However, Zamierowski pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of careless driving at Peterhead Sheriff Court and said he had been racing home to get to his sick pregnant wife.

Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told the court that Zamierowski, 36, who was in a blue Audi A4, had caught the attention of an unmarked police car on August 5 last year at 10.20pm.

Man charged with murder over Tillydrone high-rise death

A man has appeared in court charged with murder after a body was found outside an Aberdeen high-rise.

Police and emergency services were called to Elphinstone Court, near Montgomery Crescent, in the Tillydrone area of the city at around 3.30pm on Monday afternoon.

A 37-year-old man – named by police as Jamie Forbes – was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Wednesday, Lee Smith, 37, appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court charged with his murder.

Inverness policeman accused of sexual and communications offences

An Inverness-based police officer has been arrested and charged in connection with “non-recent sexual and communications offences,” The Press and Journal can reveal.

Police Constable Cameron Ross first appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court in March 2023 and later at the High Court in Glasgow on November 20 last year.

The court case will next call on March 14, when a preliminary hearing into the charges will be held.

It’s understood that there were two separate Crown cases against PC Ross but they have since been merged into a single case.

Repeat drink-driver caught on way to Asda – to buy more alcohol

A repeat drink-driver has been handed a roads ban after driving to Asda to buy more alcohol – despite already being more than three times the limit.

Roy Charles had been drinking at home during a day off work just before Christmas when he decided he didn’t have enough alcohol.

But instead of taking a 15-minute walk to his local Asda in Portlethen, the 52-year-old opted to jump in his car and drive.

Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose did not give a narrative of the offence other than to say it happened at 3.10pm on December 22 2023.

Oil worker convicted of sexual assaulting 14-year-old girl as she slept

An offshore worker has been found guilty of molesting a 14-year-old girl as she slept in her bed.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Darren Rutherford crept into the teenager’s bedroom and sexually assaulted her in the early hours of the morning.

Rutherford, 44, pleaded not guilty to the allegation but was convicted after a jury heard there was DNA evidence that backed up his victim’s claims.

The court was told the sickening attack has “changed how the victim lives her life”.

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Elgin fish shop worker molested girl, 13, in exchange for cash

An Elgin fish shop worker who molested a 13-year-old girl and sexually assaulted a vulnerable woman in exchange for cash has been convicted of his crimes.

William Mackie, 74, targeted the females at the now-closed Lossie Fish Shop on Culbard Street on dates in 2009/10 and 2016.

Mackie was tried at Inverness Sheriff Court on charges of using lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards the young teenager as well as sexually assaulting a young woman.

In evidence led by fiscal depute Pauline Gair, the first victim told the court she was 13 and had been in the habit of visiting Mackie’s shop with friends.

Man accused of attempted murder after alleged Inverness machete attack

A 29-year-old man appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court today accused of a machete attack in the city.

Malcolm Macleod, from Inverness, made no plea to charges of attempted murder and possession of a bladed weapon and a knuckleduster.

Gilbert Street was cordoned off for five hours on Monday after police were called to the scene at around 2.25pm.

One resident told the P&J that he was getting ready for work when he heard a neighbour screaming outside.

Jail for man who told decoy he found young girls ‘sexy’

A Nairn paedophile who told an internet decoy posing as a child that he found “girls your age group sexy” has been jailed for a year.

Harry Croft, 62, messaged a decoy posing as a 10 or 11-year-old child saying he liked young girls.

He made sexual comments and asked for naked photographs, suggesting the “child” obscure her face so that she could not be identified.

Croft appeared for sentencing at Inverness Sheriff Court having previously admitted a charge of sexually communicating with a person he believed to be a child under the age of 13 and causing them to look at a sexual image.

Fake Aberdeen taxi driver groped two female passengers

A man pretended to be a taxi driver in order to lure Aberdeen women into his car where he sexually assaulted them, a court has heard.

Junaid Muhammed Naheed, 27, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted groping two women on separate occasions after offering them a late-night lift.

Both women were under the impression Naheed was an Aberdeen taxi driver when they got in the car – but he then lunged at them, kissing and groping them without their consent.

It was also revealed at Naheed – who actually works as a delivery driver – was already on the sex offenders register for groping a 16-year-old girl in Manchester in 2021.

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