Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Joiner filmed himself performing sex act on sleeping woman’s feet
A Banchory joiner who filmed himself performing a sex act with a sleeping woman’s feet has admitted his guilt in court.
John Moir today finds himself on the sex offenders register after his disturbing conduct came to light.
The 48-year-old committed the offences on various occasions, leaving his victim feeling “violated” and with trust issues.
Snapchat video snares man who hurled table from hotel window
A man who threw a table out of a fourth floor hotel window was only caught because his friend uploaded it to Snapchat.
Richie Fraser appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted pushing the table out of the abandoned Holiday Inn hotel at the site of the old Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
It is understood a video of the incident was posted to social media showing the table smashing to the ground “metres away from a public footpath”.
The 22-year-old’s solicitor described his client’s antics as “reckless” and “foolish”.
17-year-old driver took police on 100mph chase
A 17-year-old driver who took police on a 100mph high-speed chase has been banned from the roads.
The Turriff teenager – who cannot be named for legal reasons – appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted driving his white Seat dangerously and at excessive speed on the A947 road.
Police pursuing the teenager saw him veer into the opposing lane while trying to overtake other vehicles and take corners blind.
Man shattered woman’s teeth with headbutt after pub outing to races
A man who headbutted a woman and broke her teeth after a day at Perth Races has avoided a prison sentence.
Martyn Shaw fell out with the woman on the return bus journey, telling friends: “She’s getting it when she’s off the bus.”
The 35-year-old then brutally headbutted the woman to the face, shattering her front teeth, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Aberdeen stripper convicted of hen party sex assaults
An Aberdeen stripper has been placed on the sex offenders register after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during a hen party performance.
Stuart Kennedy, who also goes by the stage name Sergeant Eros, sat on one woman’s lap and repeatedly tried to embrace her, and rubbed his body against a second.
The 40-year-old, who was described as “dismissive and arrogant” by fiscal depute Andrew McMann, did so despite the women’s “clear verbal and physical objections”.
Jail for serial domestic abuser described as ‘dormant volcano’
A serial domestic abuser who assaulted four of his former partners and left a fifth “convinced that he would come back and kill her” has been jailed for 34 months.
Daniel Sharratt-Dye was described as a “master manipulator” and a “dormant volcano” whose anger would “erupt”.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard how he choked women, threw items at them and headbutted one.
Man’s birthday bash ends in jail after waving purple penis in public
An Aberdeen man’s boozy birthday bash ended in jail after he chased Union Street shoppers with a purple rubber penis.
Michael Morrice had removed his top when he began larking around with the rudely shaped “stress toy” on a Monday afternoon in front of numerous members of the public, including children.
Morrice was celebrating his 45th birthday with friends when he held the toy to his crotch and pursued passers-by, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
Huntly predator given extra time behind bars for prison sex act
A dangerous predator who abducted a Huntly paper girl to try to rape her has been convicted of performing a sex act in front of warders at Perth Prison.
James Murison was already subject to a lifelong restriction order when he carried out the solo sex act in front of male and female prison officers.
Perth Sheriff Court was told Murison brazenly laughed and continued in front of the shocked staff in the prison on August 8 last year.
Woman’s fingernail ripped out during brawl
A woman has been fined £1,225 and ordered to pay compensation after a street brawl outside a Peterhead pub resulted in a victim’s fingernail being ripped out.
Amanda Youngson, 28, had been out drinking with friends at Peterhead’s Bar 57 on May 14 last year.
The court heard how Youngson had been thrown out of the pub and then started fighting with three women outside.
Former Moray teacher had indecent images of children
A former Moray history teacher has been placed on the sex offenders register after being caught with indecent images of children.
Mark McMinn appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted a single charge of taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images of children.
The charge detailed that the offence took place between October 1 2013 and September 8 2018 at an address in Cathedral Road, Elgin, or elsewhere.
Jail for abuser who subjected partner to ‘terrifying experience’
A domestic abuser who told his partner the only way to escape him was to jump from an upstairs window has been jailed for 42 months.
A sheriff said Radoslaw Malek’s abuse must have been a “terrifying experience” for the woman before imposing the backdated prison sentence.
The court had previously heard how Malek tracked his partner’s mobile phone and checked her online banking as part of a course of coercive and controlling abusive behaviour.
Man broke into neighbour’s flat and stole his mum’s ashes
An Aberdeen man broke into his neighbour’s flat and helped himself to £11,000 of his belongings – including his late mother’s ashes.
Lee Munro essentially moved into his neighbour’s empty home, sleeping in his bed and leaving the property “ransacked” and strewn with empty Pot Noodles.
Munro also stole pricey belongings, including a drum kit, army medals, electronics, a snowboard, motorbike helmets, artwork, clothing and – most upsettingly – a box containing the ashes of the flat owner’s mother.
Potato farmer found guilty of sexually assaulting female workers
An award-winning Banchory potato farmer has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two female members of staff.
Colin Blackhall, 71, was on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court facing several charges that he sexually touched the women while they worked at his farm, TLC Potatoes Ltd, over a 12-year period.
While giving evidence, one woman stated that Blackhall had placed his hands on her backside and pulled her towards his groin.
Man caught with throwing dart admits offensive weapon charge
An Inverness man who was caught carrying an “adapted” throwing dart for protection has admitted an offensive weapons charge.
James Wilson, 43, was searched by police who spotted him standing in the road with his arms outstretched making comments towards their vehicle.
When officers found the single dart, which had been wrapped in sticky tape, in his back pocket, he told them he had it for “protection”.
Get the latest crime and court stories delivered straight to your inbox
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.
Thugs ordered to pay £3,000 to victim of savage street attack
Two thugs who battered a vulnerable Aberdeen dad – who was using a walking stick – in a savage street attack have been ordered to pay their victim £3,000.
Stephen Fraser and Richard Sandison set about the man after a drunken exchange of words on George Street.
The cowardly duo rained kicks down on the 52-year-old, who had been out for a drink with his son, leaving him covered in blood and lying in the middle of the road.
Unpaid work for man who floored victim with one punch
An attacker who floored his victim with a single punch in Inverness has been spared jail.
Jack Cunningham knocked the man unconscious and left him needing eight stitches after the attack on Union Street in Inverness.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told Cunningham, 19, had “lost his temper” after the other man made his “life a misery”, forcing him to move home.
Peterhead man jailed for threatening neighbour with knife
A Peterhead man has been jailed after threatening his neighbour with a knife for not giving him any cigarettes.
Wheelchair-bound John McGowan, 58, appeared from custody in Peterhead Sheriff Court to hear his sentence.
Fiscal depute Peter Finnon told the court McGowan, who is on remand for another matter, had knocked on his neighbour’s door on August 12 last year asking her to give him cigarettes.
When she explained she did not have any cigarettes to give him, McGowan became angry.
Sheep worrying trial collapses after Crown fails to prove accused owned dogs
A Keith sheep-worrying trial was thrown out of court after the Crown failed to prove the ownership of the two dogs involved.
Jim Pirie was accused of letting two dogs run around “at large” through fields of sheep at Towiemore Farm near Keith last year.
The 74-year-old appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court to represent himself in the case which heard Crown evidence from father and son farmers Graeme and Ryan Smith.
Ryan Smith, 28, told the court he had filmed two dogs chasing sheep on April 12, 2023.
Aberdeen man drove Ford Focus at trio on motorbike
A man has been banned from the road after driving his Ford Focus at three people on a motorbike in Aberdeen.
William Morris followed and drove at the trio, who were also driving erratically.
Thankfully, the driver of the bike was able to take evasive action and no collision took place, although they did fall off the bike and fled the scene.
Man threatened neighbour with hammer
An Aberdeen man will be fitted with an electronic tag after he brandished a hammer at his neighbour who he thought had pilfered bottles of alcohol from him.
Umberto Pallotta, 59, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted standing outside the man’s house shouting at the top of his voice with a hammer raised in the air.
His solicitor told the court that Pallotta had been drinking too much at the time and had been suffering from “paranoid” thoughts.
Due to this, he had come to wrongly believe his neighbour had stolen his alcohol.
Takeaway workers targeted in racially aggravated assault
A man who assaulted two takeaway workers in a racially motivated attack has been spared jail at Inverness Sheriff Court.
James Carroll challenged workers at the Spicy Spot in Grant Street to a fight and made remarks about them appearing to come from a “foreign place” before telling them to “go back”.
He told witnesses the men were “probably skinning camels around the back” before pushing the men.
Man jailed for knifing best friend who lost an eye in the bloody ordeal
A man who launched a brutal knife attack on his best friend which cost the victim an eye has been jailed for four years and eight months.
David Wallace, 36, repeatedly stabbed Robin Clark’s head and body during the attack at a house in Inverness.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the victim pleaded with his assailant to stop and ran out into the street shouting for help.
HGV driver flipped lorry into field with remnants of previous night’s cocaine in system
A lorry driver flipped his truck in a terrifying crash while he had remnants of cocaine in his system.
James Thouless was lucky to walk away when his lorry hit standing water and overturned as it crashed into a field.
But the incident still cost the 39-year-old dearly – as he lost both his job and marriage as a result.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that weather, not drugs, was to blame for the crash.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group.
