Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases – from the sick stalker who targeted women on social media to the Highland footballer who was unmasked as a drug dealer.
Drug dealer hands over £4,000 of £45,000 earnings
On Monday, a drug trafficker who made more than £45,000 as part of a serious crime gang agreed to hand over £4,290 to settle a criminal profits action.
Jed Duncan, 25, was jailed for 40 months earlier this year after admitting being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug cocaine in November last year.
A police investigation dubbed Operation Taco was targeting an organised crime group based in the Aberdeen area when Duncan and a co-accused Robert Burns, 28, raised suspicions.
Burns was later jailed for four years and eight months.
Man pleasured himself in garden for four hours a day
An exhibitionist who would sometimes spend up to four hours a day pleasuring himself in front of neighbours has been put on the sex offender’s register.
Multiple times over the course of many weeks, Rory Kerr was spotted exposing himself in his back garden in Boddam – all in plain view of appalled neighbours.
Rory Kerr leaving Peterhead Sheriff Court.He even messaged one woman and asked her to “check the birdhouse” in her back garden so that he would be caught in the act.
Class A crisp smugglers
Two men have been jailed for their roles in trying to smuggle drugs into HMP Grampian – inside a packet of crisps.
Darren Walsh, 54, attempted to sneak cocaine and cannabis resin into the jail by putting it in a crisp packet during a prison visit with John Hutcheson, 31, on August 11 2019.
However, the plot was foiled by eagle-eyed staff who witnessed the exchange and seized the drugs, worth £845.
Walsh pled guilty to charges of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.
Sick stalker traced by victims
A sinister stalker who targeted random women online for years was snared when his victims joined forces on social media.
Dylan Waugh targeted four women with a campaign of unwanted sexual messages on social media and “creepy” obscene phone calls.
He also took nearly 1,000 secret photographs of women’s bottoms at locations across Peterhead, include the town’s Asda superstore.
Bottled by Buckfast
A woman smashed a bottle of Buckfast over her girlfriend’s head after a drug and alcohol binge.
Leeanne Hadden, who is also known as Chapman, attacked her then-girlfriend outside a home in Fraserburgh on May 26, before making off with the contents of her handbag.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the vicious assault was sparked by a row over money.
Depute fiscal Felicity Merson said: “Shortly after leaving the complainer became aware of the accused running towards her from behind while holding a bottle of Buckfast.
Shoplifter guzzled food from supermarket shelves
A shoplifter punched a security guard after being caught red-handed then went back inside the supermarket and began eating food off the shelves.
Sean Carbo – who was recently released from prison for spray-painting slogans over Aberdeen train station – was arrested at Asda’s Beach Boulevard store on Friday.
He admitted shoplifting and assault when he appeared from custody at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Husband threatened to murder wife because he was ‘annoying’
A north-east man demanded police arrest him because he was going to kill his wife – because she was “annoying” him.
Ryan Delasio-Watt dialled 999 and insisted he was “away to murder his wife” and “I just need picked up now”.
He refused to give his name to the concerned call handler but did reveal his wife’s address in Rosehearty, so officers rushed to the scene on June 27, this year.
Police found the 49-year-old drunk outside the home still insisting he would kill her if they didn’t arrest him.
“She is annoying me,” he told officers.
Former Highland footballer behind bars
A former Highland footballer was beginning a jail sentence tonight after cocaine worth more than £12,000 was found in a bush near his home.
Gordon Finlayson, 27, who has played for Elgin City, Brora Rangers and Forres Mechanics and won the 2019 North Caledonian League player of the year award at Alness United, was sentenced to 15 months in jail.
He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine on the second day of his trial at Inverness Sheriff Court in July.
Fake Hillary movie allegation
A woman has been accused of scamming nearly £85,000 by pretending she was a documentary filmmaker who knew Hillary Clinton.
Anne Mulloy, from Fraserburgh, is facing allegations that she deceived a woman between April 2015 and January 2016 by claiming she was making the film about the US politician and needed the money to travel to business meetings and pay for a flat in London.
It is alleged she netted more than £85,000 with almost £3,500 of that figure in documentary costs.
Daughter’s dishes assault
A woman has avoided prison after she threw dishes at her mum’s head for asking if she was “okay”.
Nadezda Gerascenko flew into a rage two days before her 21st birthday over her mother’s attempts to console her and began throwing “multiple” dishes and wine glasses at her – causing permanent disfigurement.
The incident left a laceration to her 63-year old mum’s head and bruising across her left arm.
Depraved predator preyed on children
A sex predator who tried to evade justice has been jailed for 11 years.
Colin Ritchie preyed on four children during an 18-year campaign of abuse.
One young victim was “groomed and corrupted” over many years and got to the point that he believed the sexual abuse was “perfectly normal”, the court was told.
The crimes mainly occurred in Elgin and Fochabers.
The 56-year-old had been due to face the allegations at a High Court hearing in March 2020.
But he failed to show before being eventually held in custody and hauled into the dock.
Man with golden gun sang Bond theme
A man who brandished a fake handgun at his neighbour while singing the theme song to Goldfinger caused armed response officers to be deployed.
Jody Bruce, 43, knocked on a former neighbour’s door at around 11pm on February 1st of this year and pulled the small black and gold imitation weapon.
Murder confession was pack of lies
A man has admitted wasting police time after falsely claiming to have murdered a man in woodland near his home.
A major search was launched, involving police and coastguard teams, after Donald Macleod lied about stabbing a man to death in Blackmuir Wood, Strathpeffer.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told Macleod, 53, rang police to confess to the imaginary crime and even gave details of what he’d done to the man.
Supermarket worker abused girls
An opportunistic sex predator who sexually abused and raped two young girls was jailed for eight years today.
Aberdeen supermarket worker Venceslau Dos Santos, 75, perpetrated sex attacks on the victims that had a “long-lasting” traumatic impact on the women.
The former soldier preyed on the youngsters at addresses in Aberdeen with the abuse of one girl beginning when she was aged seven and the other being molested and raped when she was 12.
Racist attacker pulled knife on shopper
A man who pulled a knife on an Aberdeen shopper has admitted using the n-word before carrying out a violent attack on his victim.
Steven Smith, 23, brandished a knife at the man on Union Street on November 14 last year before pursuing him into the City News Convenience Store where he punched him in the face while holding the blade in his other hand.
He also used the ‘n-word’ on multiple occasions during the assault.
Letter of apology from headbutter
A man who got drunk and head-butted a shop worker wrote a letter of apology to his victim.
Frazier Bell admitted being heavily intoxicated and acting in an aggressive manner to staff when he entered his local Co-op store in Ellon on August 3 this year.
The 21-year old then head-butted a male staff member before pushing him over and punching him to the body.
Fine for Spar sex act
A man who carried out a “quite inexplicable” offence by exposing himself to a shop worker after an all-night bender has escaped with a fine.
Ben Keavey was turned away from Spar on Greenfern Road in Aberdeen because it was shut but returned soon after performed a sex act in front of an appalled female employee through the window.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that the 44-year-old had been at a party the previous evening and had “continued drinking” throughout the early morning.
Premiership footballer accused of assaulting ex-partner
On Thursday, Ross County midfielder Harry Paton has appeared in court accused of abusing and assaulting his ex-partner – including claims he demanded she exercise daily and dictated what clothes she could wear.
Paton – who appeared in Inverness Sheriff Court under the name Harrison Theodore Paton – is facing three charges relating to his alleged treatment of the woman.
The 23-year-old – who last week celebrated his 75th appearance for the top flight Highland club – is accused of engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive.
It’s claimed he insisted the woman exercise daily “according to his instructions” and also dictated what clothes to wear.
Pensioner was naked with only a facemask
A pensioner who pulled down his trousers at a bus stop and exposed himself to women and children was found walking naked outside his home just days later – wearing only a facemask.
Raymond Robertson was spotted by parents on more than one occasion alighting from a bus in Aberdeen then carrying out the sick sex act.
The 68-year old was seen at a Garthdee bus stop by women on two separate occasions in July this year.
Drink-driver walked to petrol station after flipping car in field
A drink-driver walked into a petrol station covered in blood and told staff he’d crashed his car while under the influence of alcohol.
Robert Cook’s car flipped several times in a field near Hillside Farm, Banchory-Devenick.
The 36-year-old was injured in the smash, but found his way from the scene to a Shell garage on Wellington Road – a distance of several miles – where he advised staff what had happened and police were called.
He was later found to be more than double the legal alcohol limit at the time.
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