The panel of jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a man charged with murder for his actions in a 2022 shooting in Hoquiam that left a man dead, they announced Tuesday.

The court will schedule the next steps in the legal proceedings for Michael Robert Moore, 58, in the next several days as it makes its decision on what to do, with the option for the possibility of retrial.

The trial springs from a Sept. 15, 2022 incident where Moore entered the Ace of Clubs Tavern in Hoquiam. Acting belligerent to the staff, Moore ended up in an altercation with Steve Button, a patron of the bar.

Walking out to the parking lot located behind the bar, Moore and Button scuffled for a short period with pool sticks and shoving. Moore, knocked to the ground, was wrestling with Button when he drew a revolver and fired a single round, killing Button.

The prosecution, led by Jason Walker, argued that Moore escalated the engagement at every moment, from the moment where he entered the bar drunk, belligerent, and carrying a liquor bottle and a gun, both illegal in that setting. Walker said that, seeking confrontation, Moore upped the ante repeatedly, ending with him shooting and killing Button after Button was already breaking away from the fight.

Viewed another way, said Ruth Rivas for the defense, Moore was within his right to defend himself from the physically larger and more aggressive Button. While Moore was outside the bounds of good taste or behavior in entering the bar so belligerently, he never made threats, Rivas said, defending himself unsuccessfully from Button and ending up on the ground of the parking lot, menaced by Button, who Moore couldn’t be sure wasn’t going to offer further violence.

The trial began last Tuesday and entered the jury deliberation phase on Friday afternoon. The Daily World will continue to cover the trial when the next steps are announced.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.