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Weekend court roll – our round-up of the most-read cases of the week

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Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases – from the OAP who sexually assaulted a dementia sufferer to the mugger who struck from the back of a mobility scooter.

On Monday, a former soldier appeared from custody and admitted attempting to throttle a police constable during a city centre scuffle at the weekend.

Arron Campbell was spotted by police causing a disturbance on Aberdeen’s Bridge Street following a night out on Saturday August 21.

Arron Campbell leaving Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

When officers rolled down their window to tell him to get off the road he turned to them and said: “What did you just say to me?”

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Campbell later boasted: “I enjoyed that fight”.

Man hid sick images on encrypted files

An Aberdeen man has avoided custody after being caught with more than 600 indecent images of children and nine hours of sickening footage hidden on encrypted files.

Police carried out an intelligence-led raid on Daniel McGladrigan’s Aberdeen home in October last year after learning IP addresses linked to him had been used to upload indecent images to online cloud-based storage.

Daniel McGladrigan.

Officers seized and examined a number of devices, including three phones and two PlayStations and a computer tower, and found hundreds of illegal files.

A total of 139 category A images, the most serious, were found, along with 82 category B and 422 category C. Meanwhile 34 category A videos were found, nine category B and 26 category C.

Violent abuser disfigured partner with boiling water

A violent domestic abuser who disfigured his partner with boiling water and pushed dog poo through a letterbox has been handed a supervision order.

John Strathdee was convicted, following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, of engaging in a course of conduct that was abusive of the woman between July 18 and December 31 last year.

John Strathdee leaving court.

The 56-year-old denied the charge, but a remote jury took around three hours to find him guilty by majority verdict earlier this month.

Strathdee’s abusive conduct took place at addresses in Aberdeen, Huntly and Aviemore.

Teen in court after naked antics

A teen who stripped off and did sit-ups in the middle of Turriff high street, before spitting at cops and shouting “Covid” has avoided a custodial sentence.

Jack Allen had been binge drinking when he threw a road sign and a bin at the window of the Tesco store on Turriff’s High Street on October 2 last year.

Jack Allen leaving Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

But when officers arrived they found the teenager in the middle of the road performing sit-ups.

As police attempted to subdue Allen, he shouted a number of offensive and racist remarks at officers before spitting and shouting “Covid” at them.

Steals on wheels

A drug-fuelled, mobility scooter-riding lout mugged a pensioner and tried to steal his bank card.

Mark Glen targeted his 72-year-old victim when the man stopped for a breather outside Tesco on the Lang Stracht.

Mark Glen leaving court on his mobility scooter.

Glen, 40, demanded the pensioner give him £10 and grabbed hold of his bank card.

A woman who saw what was happening bravely intervened, checking the pensioner was alright and challenging Glen, who rode off on his mobility scooter.

Warrant for death crash accused

A warrant has been granted for a man accused of causing the death of five people, including his own son, in a north-east road crash.

Alfredo Ciociola, 49, is accused of causing the crash on the A96 near Keith on July 26 2018.

Clockwise from top left: Audrey Appleby, 70, Edward (Ted) Reid, 63, Frances Saliba Patane, 63, and Evalyn Collie, 69, all died in the crash

He is alleged to have crashed a Fiat minibus into a 4×4 after falling asleep at the wheel.

A not guilty plea to causing the five deaths and serious injury by dangerous driving was entered at a previous hearing.

Furnishing firm carpeted over false advertising

A furnishings giant has been fined more than £2,000 after misleading north-east customers about the price of a carpet.

SCS displayed the illegal signage at its Kittybrewster Retail Park store in Aberdeen on April 10 2019.

It is the second time SCS has been hauled over the coals because of misleading advertising in recent years.

The SCS store at Kittybrewster retail park.

Parent firm A Share and Sons Ltd, which owns 100 SCS carpet and sofa stores across the UK, including the Aberdeen branch, was fined £6,000 in 2019 after it admitted misleading customers over supposed savings in a Black Friday sale deal.

In that case, in March 2019, Sheriff Ian Wallace told the court: “I do not view this as an oversight – it was a planned act by the company purposefully misleading its customers for financial gain.”

The firm appeared in the dock again on Tuesday after Aberdeen City Council’s trading standards department received another complaint.

Son turned on domestic abuser

A man “took the law into his own hands” and battered his mum’s boyfriend with a metal pole after learning he had assaulted her.

Michal Wosinski, 21, raced round to their address in Parkhill, Dyce, after receiving a call from his mum advising of the incident, and armed himself with a metal pole.

Michal Wosinski leaving court.

The 21-year-old used the pole to smash a window before turning it on Iain Riddoch, his mum’s partner, striking him “several times” with it.

Both men appeared separately at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted their guilt over the different assaults.

Sex case teacher wins sentence appeal

A former Shetland teacher found guilty of sexual activity with two pupils has had his sentence cut by three months after an appeal.

Kieran Malcolmson had appealed his 15-month jail term which was imposed by Sheriff Philip Mann.

Kieran Malcolmson.

Lord Pentland and Lord Doherty listened to submissions from Malcomson’s lawyer at a hearing of the Court of Criminal Appeal last week, and a written judgement has now been issued.

Malcolmson’s sentence has now been reduced to 12 months by the appeal judges who found the term was “excessive”, but dismissed the argument it was inappropriate.

Drug dealer caught with more than £200k of coke and heroin

A man was caught with more than £200,000 of cocaine and heroin during a large scale drugs probe in Aberdeen.

Ozioma Nkwor was held following a raid at his home in Aberdeen last November 26.

Police also seized £3,144 of cash stashed in a bedroom.

The 36-year-old first offender – originally from Nigeria and had no “legal right” to remain in the country – today appeared at the High Court in Glasgow.

Pensioner sexually assaulted dementia sufferer

A predatory pensioner who sexually assaulted a dementia sufferer told police: “I knew she wasn’t into it, but she never said no”.

Raymond Collie, 72, was caught on camera touching the woman – who is in her 80s – during visits to her home.

Raymond Collie leaving Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

His victim’s horrified son discovered evidence of the sexual assaults after watching footage from a CCTV camera he’d installed at her home.

The disturbing images captured Collie kneeling next to his victim and sexually assaulting her.

Puppy breeder sold sick dogs

A breeder who sold seriously ill puppies – including one with pneumonia – on Gumtree was banned from keeping dogs during a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Stacy McPhee sold puppies Brodie, Alfredo and Roxy claiming they had all been checked by a vet – but all three suffered from serious illnesses including heart murmurs.

Stacy McPhee and Alfredo, one of the sick puppies she sold.

One was even left “shaking uncontrollably” with pneumonia, which McPhee, 23, brushed off as a “cough” due to her having a “short nose”.

Witnesses paid hundreds of pounds for the dogs and quickly discovered the health problems after taking the puppies home – but McPhee ignored their attempts to contact her.

Karaoke customer assaulted bouncer

A man has admitted attacking a karaoke club bouncer after he was told to leave for bothering women.

Jonathan Slowey came to the attention of door staff at Café Bardot when a number of female revellers reported that he had made inappropriate comments toward them on January 30 last year.

Jonathan Slowey attacked a bouncer at Cafe Bardot.

The 30-year old was then refused back into the club, causing him to lash out and strike a bouncer on the side of the head.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that the bouncer had felt he needed to act after several women had alerted him to Slowey’s behaviour within the nightspot.

Man accused sexual assaults

A man is facing charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted men over a seven-year period.

Graeme Robb is accused of dropping an “unknown substance” into the drinks of two men at an address in the Tillydrone area of Aberdeen in 2013 and 2019 – causing them to lose consciousness.

It is alleged Robb then performed a sex act on the men.

He also faces a charge that he sexually assaulted a sleeping man in 2020.

The charge alleges that the men were unable to give consent.

Man, 28, had sex with 15-year-old schoolgirl

A 28-year-old man who met a young girl on social media and twice had illegal sex with her has been placed on a year’s social work supervision.

Callum Crockett, now aged 30, of Church Street, Inverness, previously admitted the sex offence, which was committed between January 5 2020 and January 21 2020 at a house in Inverness, and was also placed on the sex offenders register for the same period.

At a previous hearing, Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the 15-year-old’s schoolfriends told a teacher that she was engaging in sexual intercourse with an older man and the police were informed.

Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told the court that the girl travelled through to Inverness regularly to meet Crockett, whom she regarded “as her partner”.

Farmer killed pub-goer with single punch

A north-east farmer has been convicted of killing a pub-goer with a single punch after the man called his girlfriend a ‘fat b***h’.

Raymond Shand, 41, struck David Suttle, 59, after he insulted barmaid Heather Brown at the Horn Inn pub in Duns, Berwickshire, on September 22 2019.

On Friday, the High Court in Edinburgh heard how Ms Brown had told Mr Suttle to leave the pub late in the evening.

Farmer Raymond Shand, from Huntly, killed a man with a single punch

But as he was leaving, Mr Suttle was heard saying: “Well if that fat b***h isn’t going to give us another drink.”

This prompted Mr Shand to tell Ms Brown: “He’s not going to speak to you like that.”

Mr Shand then punched Mr Suttle which caused him to fall over and bang his head on the ground which led to him sustaining a fatal head injury.

Meds made £95,000 embezzler ‘disinhibited’

A bakery manager who embezzled almost £100,000 to fund her gambling addiction has avoided jail after it emerged she’d been on meds which made her “impulsive” and “disinhibited”.

Nicola Smith, or Thomson, had been working at Kindness Bakers on Main Street, New Deer, since 2007, and worked her way up to store manager where she was trusted with the day-to-day bookkeeping.

Nicola Smith or Thomson.

But in 2017 she began taking advantage of her position and used the bakery’s PayPoint terminal, which lets customers purchase vouchers for phone and utility top-ups, to obtain pre-paid vouchers without running them through the till.

Over the course of five months, the 47-year-old embezzled £95,000 of the vouchers, which she redeemed on gambling website Jackpotjoy.

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