Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Wick lifeboat volunteer barred from contacting ex after admitting harassment
A lifeboat volunteer from Wick who begged for a second chance has been told to stay away from his former partner.
Kevin Macalpine, 53, had earlier admitted to sending repeated messages to his now ex-girlfriend when he could not accept things were over.
He would send messages to her friends and even her son, requesting them to pass on notes asking her to reconcile.
Lorry driver narrowly avoided collision after careless A96 overtake
A lorry driver narrowly avoided a collision after he misjudged an overtake on the A96.
Stuart Revill admitted careless driving at Inverness Sheriff Court, following the incident on April 26 last year near the Auldearn junction.
His solicitor told the court Revill was “aware that there could have been far more serious consequences”.
At the hearing in Inverness, Revill admitted an amended charge of careless driving.
Men accused of using hammer in Inverness attempted murder
Two men have appeared in court accused of attempting to murder a teenager with a hammer.
Liam Miller, 24, and Liam McAllister, 19, were arrested following the incident in the Hilton area of Inverness at the weekend.
It is alleged they assaulted 19-year-old Sean Smith with a hammer and a “sharp instrument” in Morvich Way on Saturday April 26.
Mr Smith was taken to the hospital in Inverness with serious injuries.
Man found hiding in cupboard by police was £5,000 cannabis dealer
A drug dealer who was found hiding in a cupboard at his former partner’s house also had more than £5,000 of cannabis in his possession.
Lewis Henderson was in breach of a court order when he was found hiding inside his ex-girlfriend’s bedroom cupboard at a property in Turriff in November last year.
When police brought the 25-year-old out and searched him, they discovered he had hundreds of pounds in cash in his pocket.
Newburgh paedophile caught AGAIN as police find more indecent images
A Newburgh paedophile was snared by police with even more child abuse material just months after his first conviction for the crime.
Jayme Williams, 31, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where he admitted being in possession of around 118 images of children on his phone, many of which were of the most serious category.
Williams, a former bank worker, was sentenced in March last year after he was caught with around 100 images on his devices, but told police he hadn’t “meant” to download them and hadn’t been “purposefully” seeking them out.
Man who disfigured Aberdeen pensioner in city centre assault jailed for 31 months
A man who beat up a pensioner in Aberdeen so severely that his eyelid became partially detached has been sentenced to prison for almost three years.
Paul Milne faced a host of charges earlier this year when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court following the attack, and was back in the dock on Monday to discover his fate.
The 46-year-old, who is from Hatton but has been in custody since last August for another crime, sat silently at Peterhead Sheriff Court as he heard he would spend 31 months in total behind bars.
Aberdeen woman, 53, in court after £100,000 of heroin found in car
A 53-year-old Aberdeen woman has appeared in court after £100,000 of heroin was found in a car on the A90.
Rona Bain was arrested following the late-night traffic stop near Fordoun last week.
She appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday and made no plea to a single charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
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Danger driver jailed for head-on collision that left man with crippling injuries
A danger driver has been jailed and banned from the roads after causing a crash that left the other man with “life-changing” injuries.
Kevin Nicoll, 43, ploughed head-on into Mark Abel’s car on the A946 Aberdeen to Newmachar road, but has only “vague” memories of the 2022 crash.
Mr Abel spent two agonising hours trapped in the wreckage and 11 more on the operating table, and still struggles with his injuries to this day.
Peterhead man found guilty of raping woman four times in 90 minutes
A man has been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman at a property in Peterhead.
Giedrius Urbonavicius, 54, was convicted by majority verdict following a week-long trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
During the trial, it was stated that the female victim told police she was raped around four times during a 90-minute ordeal.
Convicted Highland paedophile who displayed pictures of girls undressing avoids prison
A former Inverness church organist and convicted paedophile has avoided jail despite displaying indecent images of children on a shelf in his bedroom.
Iain McIntyre – who has twice been jailed for possessing vast amounts of indecent images and videos of children – had 15 printed photos of undressed young girls at his home.
The 52-year-old, of Nelson Street, Inverness but who formerly stayed in Tain’s Mansfield Estate, previously appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to possessing the images on January 10 last year.
Cleaner who worked at Inverness school accused of sending ‘child’ sexual images
A man who has been working as a cleaner in an Inverness school has appeared in court accused of indecent online communications.
Christopher Stevenson, 52, was arrested at his Inverness home after a ‘sting’ by a vigilante group at around 5.50pm on Monday.
He appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court today facing two charges under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act.
Peterhead driver has no memory of crash that left other motorist on life support for weeks
A Peterhead driver who caused a serious head-on collision that saw another car roll over and burst into flames has no recollection of how it happened.
Jacqueline Bruce, 61, was driving on the A920 Ellon to Pitmedden Road when her grey Land Rover veered into the oncoming lane, striking a silver Ford and forcing it off the road.
The car – driven by another woman – turned over several times before its engine caught fire.
Man found walking topless on A82 abused police and refused breath test
A man found walking topless by the side of the A82 threatened police officers, urinated in their van and refused a breath test.
Brent Connor was “highly intoxicated” and “aggressive” when officers picked him up near the police station at Fort Augustus.
When they took him into custody, the 45-year-old warned them: “Watch, I’ll f***ing kill you.”
Fraserburgh man carried out vicious early hours assault for £120 in cash
A Fraserburgh man has admitted to carrying out a violent early-morning attack on his victim to rob him of just £120, a court has heard.
Craig Murray, appearing on remand from HMP Grampian, was in the dock at Peterhead Sheriff Court to stand trial for a host of charges, including assault, theft, and threatening to set fire to a woman’s home.
But the 33-year-old had a change of heart mid-way through the trial and changed his plea to guilty after hearing first-hand evidence of his attack.
Aviemore taxi driver caught drug-driving after cannabis edible
An Aviemore taxi driver has been banned from the roads after being caught drug driving.
Philipe Brooks had more than three times the legal limit of a cannabis derivative in his system when his taxi was stopped by police on the town’s Grampian Road.
His solicitor told the court he had not been working at the time and was simply going shopping.
Brooks, 58, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit the single drug driving charge.
Prolific criminal behind bars after Bucksburn bread knife attack on brother-in-law
A serial Aberdeen thief has been jailed again after admitting stabbing his brother-in-law with a bread knife.
Alexander Murison also admitted stealing a can of Coke and a mountain bike from an office in Aberdeen.
The 44-year-old stole the bike from inside Neo House on Riverside Drive on August 16 last year.
Driver had cocaine worth £1,100 in hidden compartment
A driver stopped by police in Inverness had cocaine worth £1,100 in a hidden compartment in his car.
Officers pulled Gheorghe Mois over on Kessock Road in relation to a separate matter, but soon began to suspect he may be in possession of drugs.
A search of his car found nine bags of white powder in a hidden compartment beside the driver’s seat.
Aberdeen pilot says he’s lucky to be alive after vicious attack outside Busted gig
An Aberdeen airline pilot says he is lucky to be alive after being knocked unconscious in a vicious attack by a yob outside a Busted concert.
Ross McConnell, 35, and his wife Lisa, 32, attended the show at Aberdeen’s P&J Live in September 2023 with two friends.
Ross, who is originally from Montrose, was waiting for a taxi home when he was punched without provocation by Ben Corfield, 40, from Balmullo in Fife.
Fisherman made AK-47 threats at MSP Kate Forbes’ Dingwall office
A fisherman who told staff in MSP Kate Forbes’ Dingwall office that he had Irish “connections” and access to AK-47 assault rifles has appeared in court.
Iain McIntosh made the alarming claims following a meeting at the SNP premises in the town’s High Street.
McIntosh – who was “agitated” during the constituency meeting – went on to say he would “use an AK-47 on them”, which the two staff took to be a threat against police officers.
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Stonehaven paedophile exposed himself to nine-year-old ‘child’ in sting operation
A Stonehaven paedophile has avoided jail after exposing himself to what he thought was a nine-year-old girl.
Glen Wilson was snared online by two decoys posing as nine and 13-year-old children.
Wilson, 34, struck up sexual chats with the ‘children’ from his Mary Street address between March 2020 and July 2023.
Banff man who tormented girlfriend given two weeks to prove he can be spared jail
A Banff man who tried to control his former girlfriend by including himself in her phone calls and sending her unwanted messages has been handed two weeks to prove he can turn his life around.
Calvin Arnold, 24, had been scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday for his campaign of abuse against his ex but was given a last-minute reprieve when custody was described as being on the horizon.
The court heard how Arnold was already the subject of multiple community payback orders for previous matters which he had thus far not completed.
Fyvie man threatened to kill neighbour and have his mum murdered
A man who moved to an Aberdeenshire village for the quiet life has been fined after threatening to kill his neighbour.
Norman Gordon admitted to the crime at Banff Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
The court heard that during the argument with the man, who is his neighbour in Fyvie, he also threatened to have his mother murdered.
Offshore businessman fined after racist tirade on 11-year-old
An offshore businessman has been found guilty of making a racist comment towards an 11-year-old boy at a children’s football match in Aberdeen.
Colin Manderson, 76, denied using a vile racist slur towards a child following a youth game at Spain Park, Banks O’Dee Sports Centre, and stood trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Manderson shouted at the child, calling him a “dirty hacking black b******”.
Following a part-heard trial, Manderson was found guilty by Sheriff Lesley Johnston.
Keith domestic abuser’s campaign of violence laid bare in court
A Keith man’s disturbing campaign of controlling and violent behaviour towards two girlfriends has been revealed in court.
Mark Strathdee sat in silence in the dock of Elgin Sheriff Court as fiscal depute Victoria Silver spent more than 20 minutes narrating the case against him.
The 24-year-old previously admitted two charges of domestic abuse, which were carried out between 2022 and 2024.
Young Aberdeen thug avoids jail after unprovoked attacks outside McDonald’s
A young Aberdeen thug has avoided jail after attacking two strangers outside McDonald’s on Union Street.
Morgan Main, 20, carried out his unprovoked attacks just over a week before another incident in which he pelted a couple with rocks and attacked a man.
Main told the couple: “Do you know who I am? I will kill you.”