After drinking moonshine he purchased the day before, Brian Matthew Hall testified he had no memory of shooting his mother one early morning last year.

His attorney argued Halls level of intoxication made him incapable of having the legally defined mental state of intent for committing a crime.

Clatsop County prosecutors said Hall, although intoxicated, knew what he was doing and had exhibited intentional acts leading up to the shooting and afterward.

Jurors acquitted the 27-year-old Astoria man Friday of attempted murder. He was convicted of third-degree assault, which was an option for the jury if they did not want to convict him of first-degree assault. He was also acquitted of resisting arrest.

The trial spanned four days with witnesses including family members and friends. Testimony from friends indicated Hall was generally known for being truthful within the community. In the initial interview after the shooting, Hall told investigators he had no idea what happened or why he was being detained.

Prosecutors said the case boiled down to anger, alcohol and firearms, with the tension between Hall and his mother resulting in him pointing his AR-15 rifle at her in the early morning of Feb. 7, 2013.

Delores Hall testified she awoke at 3 a.m. to feed her livestock when she found her son on the computer and very intoxicated. Halls blood-alcohol content taken four hours later registered at 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.

She told jurors Hall became argumentative after she reminded him about feeding the cattle and horses, even coming within inches of her face. After she went out, Delores Hall said she returned to find the house locked, but the lights still on. She yelled for her son to open the door, saying she would be late for work. When he didnt respond, she decided to break an already damaged window in an unoccupied room. While still outside and removing the glass, the light came on and she saw her son with the assault rifle.

Delores Hall said she made eye contact with him and spoke to him, brushing off a remark that he would shoot her if she tried to come into the house. The barrel was pointed right at her chest and close, she said, so she chose to shove it down and away. The gun fired, and a bullet went through her waist on the left side.

Brian Hall eventually called 911 after initially refusing, she said, because he would only do it if she told him she was dying.

I could tell I was losing a lot of blood, she said. I was starting to feel dizzy.

The 911 call was played for the jury to hear. Ron Brown, chief deputy district attorney, said the fact Hall was able to make the call and give his name and address, showed he was aware of his actions.

He knows everything about whats going on, Brown said. He did too many intentional acts for it to be a drunken stupor.

Defense attorney Stacy Rodriguez said Halls state was such that the lights were on and nobodys home.

Both sides called upon witnesses to try and gauge Halls experience as a drinker and what his tolerance level might have been. Hall told investigators and the court he hadnt tried moonshine before. His younger brother testified Hall had tried it and did drink hard alcohol for a period. Leading up to shooting, Brian Hall said beer was his drink of choice three to four times a week.

Rodriguez also defended Hall based on an Oregon law justifying the use of force in self-defense or defense of property. She argued Hall believed his mother was an intruder and that was why he pointed the rifle at her and attempted to keep her from coming inside.

But the law has limitations, Brown pointed out to jurors. In this case, he said the use of deadly force would be questionable because Delores Hall was outside the house.

Hall remains in custody pending a release hearing. Third-degree assault is a felony in Oregon that can result in a maximum prison sentence of five years. Halls sentencing is expected next month.