An employee-from-hell regularly pulled a loaded shotgun on his boss and tortured him with a dog chain during two decades of systematic violent abuse.
Ronald McLennan has been locked up after a jury found him guilty of putting his employer’s life in danger during the 20-year bullying campaign.
Full details of the incredible working relationship between McLennan and his boss, Ian Robertson, were revealed during a trial at the High Court in Dundee.
The jury heard evidence about allegations of water-boarding, death threats, deliberate car crashes and torture.
Evidence was also aired about plots to blackmail Mr Robertson into handing over nearly £40,000 by threatening to report his business practices to the authorities.
Remanded pending sentence
McLennan, 52, of Charleston, near Forfar, had faced a total of 19 charges relating to incidents between April 2000 and April 2019.
13 of the charges were removed after a no case to answer submission but the jury found McLennan guilty of four of the six which remained.
McLennan, who has recently been working for an Aberdeen-based construction company, was remanded in custody and sentence was deferred to the High Court in Aberdeen next month by Lord Hughes.
“It is quite clearly the case you have now been convicted by the jury of what are very serious matters indeed, involving shotguns,” he said.
“Charge six [involving the dog chain] is an incident which would have caused particular distress to the complainer.
“The jury have found that what you did was to the danger of that person’s life.
“They are very serious matters and that will be reflected in the sentence in due course.
“Due to the gravity of the offences you will be remanded in custody.”
Choked victim with dog chain
The court was told McLennan, who has no previous criminal convictions, had worked for Mr Robertson in the construction industry for 20 years.
Mr Robertson told the trial he was regularly hit with weapons and was left terrified on a number of occasions when McLennan pulled a loaded shotgun on him.
He also admitted McLennan – who had several shotguns – had been allowed to keep the weapons partly because Mr Robertson had given him a reference to provide to police.
Mr Robertson described how, on one occasion, McLennan angrily confronted him and placed a dog chain round his neck to torture him.
McLennan pulled the chain tight Mr Robertson, from Forfar, said was gasping for breath and fell over as he fought for his life.
Shotgun, dog chain and metal bars
The jury found McLennan guilty of breaching the peace by brandishing a loaded shotgun at Mr Robertson and threatening his family on various occasions between April 1 2000 and October 6 2010.
They found him guilty of injuring Mr Robertson by punching and kicking him on the head and body, and striking him with metal bars and pieces of wood, between April 2006 and April 19 2019.
McLennan was also found guilty of attacking Mr Robertson with a dog chain during a single incident in the Angus town between March 20 2008 and December 31 2014.
He was convicted of pulling the chain and compressing his victim’s neck to his severe injury and danger of life.
Finally, the jury found McLennan guilty of brandishing a loaded shotgun and threatening Mr Robertson with violence on an occasion between January 1 2006 and December 31 2008.
They removed a reference to him discharging the shotgun above his victim’s head.
Not proven and dismissed
The jury returned not proven verdicts on charges of assault relating to incidents in March 2006 and in Montreathmont Forest in March 2008.
The charges which collapsed during the trial included McLennan extorting £30,000 from Mr Robertson by threatening to report him to the Health and Safety Executive, and £8,200 by threatening to report him to HMRC.
An allegation McLennan drove a truck and plough towards a van driven by Mr Robertson was also removed before the jury retired to consider verdicts.
Claims of water-boarding by putting a rag in Mr Robertson’s mouth and pouring water on it and tying him to a chair, punching and slapping him and brandishing a drill, were also scrapped.
McLennan was also formally cleared of causing a van to roll down a hill and into a river, and driving a car at his boss and trying to strike him.
He was also cleared of hitting his victim with a digger bucket, and throwing him into a flooded trench and stamping on his head and body to severe injury and danger of life.
The Crown asked for three shotguns and cartridges to be forfeited.
