Good evening – here are the stories that caught the attention of our reporters today.
Poundland punch-up
A woman has avoided prison after she ‘lost the plot’ and attacked and racially abused Poundland staff who suspected her of shoplifting.
Elaine Clark, 41, was on a shopping trip to Aberdeen with a friend on October 31 last year when she became “extremely hostile and aggressive” after being stopped by security at the discount store on Union Street.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Clark immediately began being racist to the security guard, calling him “a monkey”, before punching him in the face.
Painter caught transporting drugs
A painter and decorator who was caught with drugs worth more than £10,000 has escaped a stint in prison.
Pawel Golinski, 38, was stopped by police while driving through Aberdeenshire because he had an expired MOT certificate.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how a search of Golinski’s blue Vauxhall produced one bag of cocaine worth a maximum street value of £1,700 and another bag of cannabis worth an estimated £9,000.
Unpaid work supervisor turned to crime
An unpaid work supervisor who turned to crime himself has been jailed after being caught with cocaine worth more than £10,000.
Dad-of-three Dean Kennedy was caught red-handed transporting a £12,000 of cocaine from Glasgow to Fort William when cops pulled over his BMW in the Lochaber town’s Victoria Road.
The 52-year-old, who oversaw community payback orders for the Criminal Justice Social Work Department in Fort William, told police he had been paid to transport the package but refused to divulge who he was working for or who the recipient was to be.
Facebook troll ‘not trying hard enough’
A Facebook troll who abused a former north-east politician has been accused by social workers of “not trying hard enough”.
Reece Cuthbert is awaiting sentencing for targeting ex-Conservative MP Ross Thomson on July 13 2019.
The 26-year-old is currently subject to a structured deferred sentence, which involves him meeting with social workers ahead of the case being disposed.
Cuthbert previously pled guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court to sending Mr Thomson messages that were “grossly offensive” and of “indecent, obscene or menacing” character.
Man who killed mum to be held indefinitely
A man who stabbed his mother 33 times at his family’s home has been sent to a high-security mental health facility “without limit of time”.
Jordan Milne attacked his 59-year-old mum Carol at their home in Clifton Road, Aberdeen, in July 2019.
The 27-year-old was told that he was being sent to the State Hospital in Carstairs, Lanarkshire.
Man grabbed girlfriend by throat
A man who grabbed his girlfriend by the throat then threatened to kill her if she called the police has been jailed for eight months at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Gary Fraser, 41, of Culduthel Park, Inverness, assaulted the woman during an argument on July 24 of this year, causing her children to flee the house and seek help.
When she managed to get into the garden he followed her and shouted: “If you call the police I will kill you.”
Solicitor John MacColl for Fraser, who appeared via videolink from custody to admit the charge, told the court that the incident was “a matter of considerable regret” to his client, who had been working as a plant operator prior to his arrest.
Sentencing Fraser to eight months imprisonment Sheriff Sara Matheson said his actions were: “Completely unacceptable.”
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