COURT ROUND-UP: Death by careless driving and fire raiser jailed among last month's Inverness court business
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Inverness Sheriff Court saw a huge mix of criminal business in December.
Here's our recap of some of the cases that made the headlines last month.
A German tourist who was at the wheel during a two-vehicle crash that killed his girlfriend will face sentencing after admitting to causing serious injury and death by careless driving.
Gerrit Reickmann (30), of Am Hanloh, Münster, Germany, was driving a hired blue Citroen C3 on the A82 when he collided with another motorist on October 12, 2020 near Borlum Farm, Drumnadrochit.
A jury at the High Court in Inverness heard how Reickmann and his girlfriend of five months, Melina Rosa Päprer (24), of Lüneburg, Germany, had been visiting the Highlands on their first holiday together after being together for five months.
A 27-year-old Inverness mother of two who made "a catastrophic mistake" by agreeing to sell drugs during lockdown has been given time by a sheriff to stay out of trouble and save for a financial penalty.
Chelsea Miller, of Ashton Road, appeared for sentence before Sheriff Gary Aitken after previously admitting being concerned in the supply of cannabis between November 2021 and June 2023 at a house in the city's Evan Barron Road.
A motorist who caused a woman to crash her car into another has saved up enough to pay the £1500 repair bill.
Patryk Boniek of Drynie Avenue, Inverness appeared before Sheriff Gary Aitken and admitted driving carelessly on September 15, 2022 on Culloden Road.
A Caithness agricultural contractor, who was also employed by a timber firm, continued to reclaim VAT by submitting false returns after stopping trading.
Ian Miller, formerly from Wick but living in Towerhill Road, Inverness, appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted the fraud amounting to £36,514.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank heard that the 52-year-old had saved £12,000 towards repayment to HMRC and decided against jailing him.
A woman who set her flat on fire following a relationship break-up has been jailed for 18 months.
The incident happened on August 22, 2022 in a block of eight residences in Glendoe Terrace, Inverness after Jade Vint (25) had been drinking with neighbours.
A Liverpudlian drug dealer was jailed for six months after admitting being concerned in the supply of cocaine in Inverness.
Callum Hadley, of Denecliff, Pool Hey, Stockbridge Village, appeared from remand by video link at Inverness Sheriff Court after previously also pleading guilty to possession of cannabis in Culduthel Road, Inverness on October 28.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood that police were on patrol in Castle Heather Drive, Inverness when they saw Hadley with another man on February 14.
A graffiti artist was caught "red-handed" by police after he spray painted his nickname on to a wall and left some of the red paint on his hands.
But Inverness Sheriff Court had a good idea who the culprit was before catching up with him as 23-year-old George Williamson is sometimes referred to as 'young Rocker', the name his father was known by.
A Nairn man who stole an estimated £15,000-£20,000 worth of jewellery wore a pair of trainers during a house-breaking in his home town which helped lead to his arrest.
The tread on the Nike shoe matched that found in the Lochloy Road property when the owners returned from a holiday on June 26, 2023, fiscal depute Robert Weir told Inverness Sheriff Court.
A WOMAN has admitted teaming up with her mother to con her family in a fake Hollywood actress scam.
Heather Dunlop (39) claimed to her loved ones that she had signed million pound contracts.
She and mum Ann Dunlop (68) convinced her brother David Bunton (51) to hand Heather cash to help her make the breakthrough.
A man has been imprisoned for 18 months after admitting offence following £50k drugs haul in Eastfield Way car park.
Police were suspicious when they saw a motorist pulling up beside another vehicle and then try to hide a shiny toilet bag as he approached the car.
Officers decided to move in at the Eastfield Way car park in Inverness on the morning of June 11, 2019 when 30 year old Cumbernauld man Andrew Fraser returned without the bag but carrying a different package.
A motorist heading north on the A9 after a visit to see his mother didn't check his speedometer as he came down the hill at Daviot.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that police were carrying out speed checks on the stretch of dual carriageway and clocked 28-year-old David Wood driving at 111mph at 9.55pm on November 22 last year.
Two men and a woman have appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court following accusations of an assault, attempted robbery and other offences in the Highland capital.
Matthew Bell (23), Callum Ross (18) and Erin Birse (22), all from Inverness, made no plea and were committed for further examination.
An Aberdeen man who had been drinking took exception to being told to leave an Inverness bar and threatened the manager.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that 37-year-old David Jarvis had gone into the Malt Room, in Market Close, and was refused service.
A teenage driver took a bend too fast and collided with a campervan, injuring his best pal at the same scene where he heroically saved the life of a young child several years earlier.
The collision happened on the night of Saturday, June 4, 2022 as 18-year-old Aidan Macrae, who turned 20 on Christmas Day, of Broadley, Nairn was approaching the main road at the junction with the B9092 from Ardersier.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that, ironically, a 14-year-old Macrae had rescued a boy who had tried to cross the road with traffic approaching at that same location.
