David Love Journalist Profile

Articles

VIDEO: Thug smashed up Highland chip shop in row over cheese sauce

1 month ago | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love |Dale Haslam

A man smashed up a chip shop – after he was refused cheese sauce. Charles MacLennan went to Renato’s on Dingwall High Street on Sunday afternoon having just been freed from spending 15 months on remand awaiting trial. After ordering chips and cheese sauce, the 41-year-old was turned away because he couldn’t pay for it. MacLennan then claimed he heard someone call him “a beast” – which enraged him because he had been acquitted last Friday by a jury of serious offences.
Inverness attack victim, 71, tells carjackers who battered him: 'GTA is not real life'

2 months ago | pressandjournal.co.uk | Dale Haslam |David Love

An Inverness businessman has accused the two thugs who viciously attacked him of treating real life like Grand Theft Auto. Master chocolatier Lucas Story arrived in Inverness from Belgium almost a quarter of a century ago and built up a popular business – Story Chocolates – with his wife Ingrid. But the 71-year-old as a result of the ongoing trauma caused by thugs Callum Ross and Matthew Bell, who hijacked his work van while high on drugs and viciously beat him up.
Sheriff brands abusive Inverness drunk 'a complete menace'

Jan 17, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

An Inverness man who frequently abuses retail and bar staff has been described as “a complete menace when drunk”. John Mackay appeared from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court and was sentenced over a multitude of offences. Mackay, 50, was “always remorseful when sober”, his lawyer Samantha Morrison said, adding that her client “wanted to change”. Mackay admitted stealing £149 of CDs and DVDs from the HMV in the Eastgate Shopping Centre on April 11 and April 12 – none of which were recovered.
Alness man in court accused of killing woman in A9 crash

Jan 16, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

An Easter Ross man has appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court accused of causing the death of a woman in a crash on the A9 last year. Jamie Little, 40, is alleged to have been driving dangerously on the road near Torepark with nearly six times the legal amount of cocaine in his blood. The charges alleges that he collided with another car being driven by Margaret Sutherland, 59, who later died from her injuries.
'Reprehensible' Inverness gambling addict jailed after stealing £4,500 from 83-year-old neighbour

Jan 16, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

A gambling addict who fleeced his kind-hearted elderly neighbour out of £4,500 was today jailed for eight months. Angus Brady took the 83-year-old’s bank card and used it to steal the cash from ATMs in Inverness and Aberdeen, Inverness Sheriff Court was told. Sheriff Gary Aitken was told the dishonest former Royal Mail worker has no previous convictions but decided to jail him anyway, describing the crime as “a gross breach of trust”. Brady’s victim has since died, the court heard.
Boy, 16, admits brutal Buckie hammer attack on man

Jan 15, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

A 16-year-old Keith boy has been told he is in “serious trouble” after he fractured a drunk man’s skull in a hammer attack. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pulled the weapon out of his rucksack and struck the 54-year-old twice on the head during the afternoon assault in Buckie. The youngster appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting the man to his severe injury and danger of his life.
Liverpool crime crime gang exploited Inverness addict

Jan 15, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

Members of a Liverpool crime group known as Scouse Jack recruited a vulnerable Inverness man to help them sell drugs in the Highlands. Liverpudlian Carl Masher exploited heroin addict Christopher Gow and made him deliver Class A drugs and collect payments, a court was told. The drug operation was dismantled after detectives set up surveillance of Gow’s Inverness home and raided it in June 2021.
Brutal carjackers admit putting Inverness chocolate shop owner in intensive care

Jan 8, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

Two thugs have admitted putting an Inverness shop owner in intensive care for 10 days after a brutal carjacking a year ago. Callum Ross, 19, and Matthew Bell, 24, flagged down a van driven by Lucas Story on the morning of December 19 2023, claiming they wanted a lift. After Mr Story refused and drove off, a beer can was thrown at his vehicle on Merlewood Road, where he stopped to check for any damage.
Inverness man threatened to 'beat' ex and 'cut up' her family after break up

Jan 3, 2025 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

An Inverness man threatened to “beat” his former lover and “cut up” her relatives after the couple had separated. Craig MacLeod, of the city’s Thornbush Road, admitted behaving in a threatening manner on two occasions in June 2022 and January 2023. Inverness Sheriff Court heard that on the first occasion, the 34-year-old turned up at his ex-partner’s home in the South Kessock area of the Highland capital.
Man admits part in Ullapool barroom brawl

Dec 30, 2024 | pressandjournal.co.uk | David Love

A North Ayrshire man who moved to the Highlands to stay out of trouble ended up in a barroom brawl with locals in a Wester Ross fishing village. Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the fight involving 22-year-old Corey Wason spilled over from the Arch Inn in Ullapool on July 9 last year to Argyle Street and into the Caledonian Hotel.