A Penn Borough man told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday he was shot in the chest by his landlord last summer.

Nathan Booher, 26, testified he was unarmed on Aug. 28, 2021 when he entered the house he had lived in the previous three years with his mother’s boyfriend and was shot after he refused to leave the residence.

Michael Keslar, 45, of Penn Borough, is on trial on charges attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

“I can’t remember what Mike Keslar said but he pulled out a gun and fired warning shots as I stood by the front door,” Booher testified during the first day of the trial before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger.

Booher testified he paid Keslar $200 every two weeks to live at the house.

The prosecution contends there is no justification for Keslar to use deadly force, according to Assistant District Attorney Jackie Knupp.

Tim Andrews, Keslar’s defense lawyer, told jurors his client acted in self-defense and believed Booher intended him harm after the two men fought earlier that night while drinking at the Penn Rod and Gun Club.

Booher testified he was originally armed when he and Keslar walked to the bar to attend a gun bash earlier that day but did not have a weapon when he was shot.

He said he complied with Keslar’s demand later in the day to give him the weapon as both men continued to drink at the club before a disagreement between the men ended the evening.

Booher told jurors he walked to his mother’s home several blocks away, demanded her gun and, when she refused, he punched out a window of her vehicle.

“I remember being angry that night,” Booher testified. He later told jurors, “I walked back to Michael Keslar’s home, sat outside and tried to calm down.”

Prosecutors contend Booher’s mother sent a series of text messages to Keslar about the altercation that included an allegation that her son had intended to kill her boyfriend.

Booher testified he punched in a code on an electronic keypad, to entered through the home’s front door and was greeted by a gun-wielding Keslar.

Booher was hospitalized for 41 days following the shooting and underwent multiple surgeries, he testified.

The trial will continue on Thursday.

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