Charles Crane/MDN Travis McDermott testifies during his trial on manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges at the Ward County Courthouse on Wednesday. McDermott said he acted in self defense when he shot Greyson Sletto at a Minot bar last May.

The case of a Minot man charged in a fatal bar shooting was delivered to the jury following closing arguments Wednesday afternoon.

Travis McDermott, charged with two felonies after the shooting last May, testified on his own behalf on Wednesday, asserting his use of force against Greyson Sletto was in fear of own safety.

McDermott, 40, said he grewt up in Snohomish, Washington, and came to Minot while serving in the U.S. Air Force before pursuing a career as an avionics mechanic and managing wind and solar farms in North Dakota and North Carolina.

On the night of the shooting, McDermott said, his then girlfriend, Andrea Hasse, urged him to go to the “Tripwire” concert at The Original Bar. He said he spent most of the evening playing blackjack and testified he had no interaction with Sletto during that time.

McDermott’s attorney Philip Becher reviewed two different angles of security footage that captured the minutes leading up to the shooting.

Sletto was shown on video brushing against Hasse as he moved through the crowded bar, resulting in an exchange of words between the two. Sletto left the frame briefly, but returned, continuing his back and forth with Hasse before approaching McDermott while he was sitting at a table.

“He said, ‘You need to get control of your bitch,'” McDermott said. “He came up to me and was pretty aggressive, leaning into my face.”

McDermott said Sletto was posturing to fight him, leading him to show Sletto he was armed. McDermott claimed Sletto then attempted to grab his firearm.

“He had his hand around the barrel of my gun. I was able to pull away from him,” McDermott said.

Footage showed Sletto striking McDermott twice in the face before grabbing McDermott by the throat and throwing him to the ground. A bystander attempted to get between the two men, but McDermott said Sletto pushed past the person and was lifting his leg to stomp on him. It was then, McDermott said, he unholstered his weapon, switched the safety and fired two shots at Sletto. McDermott maintained he fired his weapon because he feared Sletto would take it from him and use it on him.

“I wish it never would have happened. But I also had to protect my own life,” McDermott said.

Ward County Deputy State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen pressed him on why he brought the firearm into the bar despite it being against the law in North Dakota.

McDermott claimed he was ignorant of the law banning guns from bars and said he often concealed and carried his firearm in public but would defer to publicly posted gun-free zones.

Sorgen pointed out McDermott had a duty to know the law before bringing the firearm into the venue.

Questioned about disclosing the gun, McDermott cited the size difference between Sletto and himself and the threats he claims Sletto made against his life before the altercation became physical as his reasons for revealing and using his firearm.

“I believe I did what I had to do to get home to my own family, ” McDermott said.

McDermott is on trial for manslaughter and reckless endangerment. The jury had not reached a verdict by the end of day on Wednesday.