Pair guilty of abducting man and stripping him naked in graveyard
- Published
Victim Keeron McCaffery told the court: "I thought I was going to die"
A man was dragged off the street and held hostage in a car for 12 miles before being stripped naked in a dark graveyard, a court has heard.
Keeron McCaffery was the innocent victim in a dispute his attackers had with a friend.
The 23-year-old was hauled into a car in Paisley, Renfrewshire before being beaten during the 2021 incident.
Jamie Cunningham and Steven Quill have been convicted of being involved in the abduction and attempted murder.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Mr McCaffery had been short of cash and been offered £30 to "do a job" for a friend.
He agreed to meet a man in Broomlands Street, Paisley on 2 December, 2021.
Mr McCaffery said he saw who he believed the person to be and went over to speak to him.
But, after a brief chat, he recalled the stranger punching him before a BMW car appeared and about four masked assailants leapt out.
Keeron McCaffery was abducted and driven to Langfaulds Cemetery nears Bearsden
Giving evidence behind a screen, Mr McCaffery said: "They were bigger and definitely older. They started kicking and punching while grabbing me into the car.
"I was saying you have not got the right person."
'I thought I was going to die'
As the car raced off with Mr McCaffery held hostage, the attackers demanded to know where his friend stayed.
He told prosecutor John McElroy KC: "I was terrified, scared. I thought I was going to die.
"I was put in the back seat - a person at each side of me.
"They were punching the hell out of me. I thought I was going to get stabbed."
Mr McCaffery was warned to keep quiet with the gang aware of unsuspecting police behind in a car at one point in the journey.
Jurors were shown an image of Mr McCaffery's bloodied and bruised face that he was forced to photograph on his phone and send to his friend.
Mr McCaffery also recalled trying to make a break for freedom at one point.
"I managed to pull the door open," he said. "The door was literally swinging open on the Erskine Bridge."
Steven Quill, 37, will be sentenced next month
The car stopped at Langfaulds Cemetery in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, and Mr McCaffery had his clothes ripped off him before later being given back a pair of jogging bottoms.
The 23-year-old eventually got help before police rushed him to hospital.
The trial was also shown photos of his injuries. This included "significant bleeding" around his left eye which has not fully healed.
The attempted murder charge stated Mr McCaffrey was assaulted to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment as well as to the danger of his life.
Cunningham, 30, and Quill, 37, had pled not guilty to the accusations and will be sentenced next month.