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Elgin bus driver killer’s appeal dismissed, homeless man released from custody after Forres disturbance and cannabis driver banned - Court this week





Our reporters have been busy covering a variety of cases this week.

Here’s a round-up of the most notable.

Elgin Sheriff Court. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Elgin Sheriff Court. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

Teenager who killed bus driver has appeal dismissed

A teenager who killed a bus driver has lost his appeal against his sentence.

The youth was given four years and four months detention for the culpable homicide of Keith Rollinson who lost his life after the attack on him at Elgin bus station in February last year.

The 15-year-old had been out drinking with friends in the Moray town's centre before deciding to catch a bus home.

However Mr Rollinson refused to let him on the bus because of his state of intoxication.

The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, pointed his mobile phone in the 58-year-old driver's face, apparently filming him.

Mr Rollinson grabbed the phone and they began struggling.

The father-of-two, who had been headbutted, threw the phone to the ground and stamped on it before his attacker completely lost control during the violent episode.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the victim did not retaliate but tried to get away. His attacker was pulled away by another youth.

Stagecoach driver Mr Rollinson then bent over to pick up his cap and collapsed to the ground unconscious. He was taken to hospital but never regained consciousness and died in the early hours of February 3 last year.

The original judge, Lady Hood, said she would have imposed a six-and-a-half year sentence on the teenager, but reduced that to four years and four months following his guilty plea.

The youth, now 16, who previously assaulted another bus driver, was granted leave to appeal against the sentence imposed on him.

But Lord Matthews, who heard the appeal with Lord Beckett, rejected the submission that the sentence imposed on the teenager was excessive following a hearing at the Criminal Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

Homeless man was arrested for town centre disturbance

A homeless man who caused a disturbance in a Moray town centre has been released from custody.

Joseph Grant was arrested on Forres High Street late in the evening on December 23 after he refused to stop shouting and swearing.

The 62-year-old who was described as being of no fixed abode appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court via a video camera, having been kept on remand at Inverness Prison since his arrest.

Fiscal depute Karen Poke told the court the defendant had been “very hostile” towards police officers.

She added: “He was shouting and swearing and repeatedly rejected attempts to get him to desist.”

Grant admitted a charge of breaching the peace as well as breaking a bail condition, placed on him at Inverness Sheriff Court on December 12, to stay out of trouble.

His defence solicitor Robert Cruickshank said: “He’s sorry and he sends his apologies to the officers concerned.

“It was a nuisance and the police shouldn’t have to put up with it, but it didn’t go beyond that.”

Cannabis driver given road ban

A Moray motorist has been banned from the roads after the police detected the smell of cannabis coming from his car.

David Paton was pulled over on Lossiemouth Road in Elgin at about 10.30pm on Wednesday, September 18.

A preliminary test conducted at the roadside indicated the presence of the drug in his system so he was taken to the police station.

Here an official test was carried out at shortly before 11.30pm. This recorded a reading of 6.6 - more than three times the level at which the drug is held to hamper the ability to drive.

Garden centre thief defied Scotland ban

A thief went on to defy a ban from Scotland which was imposed after he shoplifted from Threaplands.

Ivan Iliev, on March 13 last year, stole two fleeces valued at £37.95 each from the garden centre near Lhanbryde.

The 53-year-old Bulgarian national, who lives in Sheffield, was subsequently granted bail on the condition he didn’t return until his next court appearance.

However three months later, on June 17, he was stopped in a car at Newtonmore along with two other Bulgarian men.

Speaking at Inverness Sheriff Court, defence solicitor Patrick O'Dea said: "He is very sorry. It was a mistake to take the goods.

“As far as the breach of bail is concerned, he was with friends driving around and didn't tell them he should not be in Scotland."


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