An ex-Gordon Highlander yesterday went on trial for a second time this year after police accused him of using a mobile phone whilst driving.
Norman McConnachie appeared at Aberdeen’s Justice of Peace Court after being stopped by two police officers on the city’s Hutcheon Street earlier his year.
Constables Nicholas Page and Andrew Cruickshank, of Police Scotland’s Kittybrewster office, claimed they saw the 43-year-old speaking on the phone as he held it between his ear and shoulder – a dangerous and illegal move.
He had been charged with driving a vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone, but the case collapsed yesterday after Justice of the Peace Mary Singleton ruled there was not enough evidence to prove he had broken the law.
“There is no case to answer,” she said.
Earlier this year, Mr McConnachie – an ex-soldier who is now a fitness instructor – went on trial accused of waging a campaign of cruelty against his stepdaughters.
During his two-week trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, the court heard how he told officers he believed in “old-school discipline”, but denied mistreating or physically abusing his stepdaughters.
He eventually walked free from court after a jury found the cruelty charges against him not proven. They also found him not guilty of two charges of sexual assault.
After the case ended, his stepdaughters, Claudia, who now lives in Sutherland, and Savannah, waived their right to anonymity and described the distress they felt at the outcome.
Both said they were heartbroken that their mother, Rachel Boyd, who is married to Mr McConnachie, had not been in touch since his trial.
The JP court heard yesterday how the officers pulled him over on February 11 this year, just days before he went on trial to face the cruelty charges.
Constable Cruickshank said Mr McConnachie wasn’t “best pleased” he had been stopped and told the officers he had not broken the law.
Mr McConnachie’s defence agent, Gregor Kelly, showed the court a hands-free strap-on device that he insisted his client had been using at the time.
The court heard how the accused, of 9 Dunlin Court, Newtonhill, Aberdeenshire, refused to accept a fixed penalty, leading to an hour-long trial yesterday.
He declined to comment at his home last night.