Among those facing justice in September were a drunk couple who forced a flight from Edinburgh to be diverted, as well as two men who ran an unlicensed dog ‘fertility clinic.
A man who slashed a student in a knife attack at a Pro-Palestine protest in the city was sentenced, and a football boss who leaked medical reports was also in the dock last month.
There were also criminals in Edinburgh’s courts for crimes including sexual assault, domestic abuse, embezzlement and sending inappropriate messages to schoolgirls.
1. Drunk couple forced flight to divert
A drunk couple caused a holiday flight to Turkey to be diverted to Germany after acting aggressively, with one of the pair spitting on a passenger. Courtney Maich, 27, was being hauled off the plane by German police officers when she launched the “disgraceful and disgusting” assault on the mother of a child on board the Jet 2 flight. Maich and her partner Alannah O’Neill, 28, had taken off from Edinburgh Airport and were on route to Dalaman on their first ever trip on a plane when the pair began drinking their own alcohol. The louts, both from Dundee, refused to stop shouting and swearing when repeatedly asked to by cabin crew, and Maich was even handed a written warning by the captain about her behaviour. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the couple’s behaviour forced the captain to divert to Cologne around 90 minutes after take off where Maich was escorted from the flight. The pair appeared in the dock for sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on September 23, after previously pleading guilty to various offences last month. Co-accused Natasha Gilligan, 49, from Dundee, had not guilty pleas accepted by the Crown and a fourth accused, Michaela Hawes, 35, from Dundee, has a non-appearance warrant out for her arrest. Maich and O’Neill were sentenced to a 12 month supervision order, told to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, and both will be tagged and have to stay at home between 8pm and 7am, Maich for four months and O’Neill for three months. Maich was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation for what the sheriff described as a “disgraceful and disgusting” assault on Ms Taylor. | Alexander Lawrie
2. Award-winning businessman's campaign of abuse
Award-winning Edinburgh businessman Alexander Galpin abused a woman over an 18 month period including attempting to coerce her into having an abortion and attempting to prevent her from contacting others. Galpin, 24, also seized the woman on the body causing her to fall on a bed and lay on top of her and repeatedly engaged in aggressive behaviour towards her while the pair were in a relationship. He also demanded she should not see her family and not leave their flat when they lived together. The university graduate started up the gourmet food business Luxford Burgers from a shipping container as a click and collect delivery service and opened two restaurants in the city centre. He was crowned the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce ‘Rising Star of the Year’ last year, and was shortlisted for the prestigious High Growth Business of the Year 2025. Galpin, from Silverknowes, Edinburgh, also won Deliveroo’s 2024 Independent Restaurant of the Year Award in Scotland. Galpin pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive to his ex-partner between March 1, 2023 and October 31 last year when he appeared at the Capital’s sheriff court earlier this year. He returned to the dock for sentencing on September 30, where his lawyer Matthew Nicholson confirmed to the court his client had lost a scholarship due the offending and is currently £30,000 in debt. Galpin was sentenced to a supervision order for two years and must attend sessions with the domestic abuse rehabilitation organisation, the Caledonian Men’s Programme. Sheriff Cook also imposed a non-harassment order banning Galpin from approaching or contacting the victim for two years. | Alexander Lawrie Photo: Alex Lawrie
3. Barber battered and strangled women
Edinburgh barber David John Appleby, 47, attacked his former partners by punching, kicking and strangling them at his Edinburgh home over a 16 year period. Appleby headbutted and repeatedly stamped on the head of one victim, left a second woman unconscious after he twisted a necklace around her neck and jammed the head of a third woman in a door. Appleby, who owns the Gorgie Road Barbers business, threatened to shave off the hair of one terrified woman and another was left with permanent scarring to her face after the violent brute pushed on to a weights bench. He also threw a glass bottle at a woman and poured alcohol over her head, issued threats to kill a second victim and was said to have racially abused a third. All the violent domestic abuse offences took place at two addresses in the Dalry area of the capital and occurred on various occasions between January 2003 and December 2019. Appleby denied all the allegations against him but was found guilty of 10 charges on indictment including assaulting women to the danger of their life by a jury following an eight day trial at the capital’s sheriff court in August. Returning for sentencing on September 10, he was caged for five years across all charges and was handed non-harassment orders banning him from approaching or contacting all four victims for an indefinite period. Appleby was found guilty of charges of assault, assault to severe injury, assault to severe injury and danger to life, assault to injury and permanent disfigurement, behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and one charge under Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2016. | Submitted
4. Knife attack at Palestine protest
Thomas McKenzie was sentenced to 22 months in jail at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court on September 23, following a knife attack at a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this year. McKenzie, 37, confronted a group of protesters where he shouted racial slurs and performed Sieg Heil salutes before he was challenged about his behaviour. The lout then pulled a sharp blade from his pocket and slashed University of Edinburgh student Ben Law across the face leaving the third year philosophy and politics student with a bloody gash running from his mouth to his ear. Ben, 25, was taken to hospital by a family member where he had the slash to his face treated with medical skin glue. McKenzie appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was remanded after pleading guilty to assault to severe injury and acting in a racially aggravated manner on March 28 this year. He was prosecuted under the Hate Crime and Public Disorder (Scotland) Act 2021 and returned to the dock for sentencing on September 23. Lawyer Calum Turner, defending, said his client had been drinking heavily on the day of the protest after suffering a family bereavement the day before. The court heard McKenzie has “a considerable number of previous convictions” including being jailed for two offences of robbery while armed with a knife and several assaults. Sheriff Komorowski sentenced McKenzie to a 22 month jail term and ordered him to be supervised for a further 12 months following his release from custody. Following the sentencing, Ben, from Edinburgh, revealed he has had to resit his third year at university after missing exams due to the attack and the incident has had lasting effect on his family. | Submitted