PORTSMOUTH  -- A man is accused of trying to kill his boss.

Michael Slemp was arraigned Monday on an attempted murder charge.

“This is where it hit the (windshield) and I was sitting in the pickup at the time,” said Richard Stephenson. “I was scared to death. I didn't know what to think.”

Stephenson, who runs a trucking company, says he went to Slemp’s home last May in hopes of giving him his pay.

Video: Portsmouth man accused of trying to kill his boss

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Slemp says Stephenson refused to pay him all he was owed. So that’s when, Slemp says, he made a big mistake.

“He wouldn't just leave on his own, so I figured he need some help in convincing,” he said. “I guess I could've just as easily gone in and called 911."

Instead, he got a handgun and fired once.

Slemp says it was supposed to be a warning shot, but the bullet went through the windshield, just inches from Stephenson’s face.

“He aimed his gun directly at me and he fired twice, not only once, twice,” Stephenson contends.

The bullet bound off the windshield and Stephenson put the truck in reverse and backed into a ditch.

Slemp also faces charges of brandishing a firearm and maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.