PORTLAND — Eric Gwaro, the Scarborough firefighter accused of attempted murder in the beating of a woman last summer, is scheduled to take the stand in his own defense today.

Gwaro, 28, is accused of beating and stomping Sherri York on Cumberland Avenue in Portland’s east end in the early hours of Aug. 30, 2012, then carrying her to a nearby alley to hide her unconscious body after the commotion woke area residents.

Gwaro briefly consulted with his attorneys and told Justice Joyce Wheeler he had decided to testify.

The prosecution called its 18th and final witness Thursday. The prosecutor, deputy District Attorney Megan Elam, had named 31 potential witnesses on an early list, but rested her case without calling the remainder, including York, who has not attended the trial.

Gwaro’s wife, Jennifer McDonnell, testified Thursday afternoon, saying he was intoxicated when she talked to him on the phone around 2 a.m., about an hour before the attack and Gwaro’s subsequent arrest.

“Normally he’s extremely polite and caring, often funny and light-hearted,” McDonnell said. “When he’s intoxicated, he’s much less polite, is short and says things he would not normally say if he was sober.”

McDonnell said Gwaro has a problem with binge drinking.

“He would drink excessively and not know when to stop,” she said.

McDonnell said she could tell on the phone that night that he was intoxicated because his speech was slurred and he was argumentative about not being home.

McDonnell and Gwaro, who wiped away tears at one point during her testimony, have two young sons.

After the prosecution rested its case, Gwaro’s attorney, Daniel Lilley, made a motion to acquit him of two of the four charges — attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault. Both charges are class A felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Lilley has conceded from the start that Gwaro accepts responsibility for the two lesser charges: aggravated assault, a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; and violation of conditions of release for staying out beyond curfew while out on bail, a misdemeanor.

Lilley said Gwaro struck York after she had gotten into his vehicle and propositioned him, offering sex for money, before stealing money that he kept in his vehicle.

Lilley contended that prosecutors had not proved the allegations for the more serious charges, because the legal language for those charges is specific.

The criteria for a conviction on the elevated aggravated assault charges require the use of a dangerous weapon to cause serious bodily injury.

“Mr. Gwaro used his fists to cause serious injury to this woman,” Lilley said, adding that fists are not considered dangerous weapons under Maine law.

In charging Gwaro with attempted murder, prosecutors alleged he tried to kill her by kicking and stomping rather than punching, Lilley said.

Even if the jury believed that Gwaro had kicked York, however, he was wearing only canvas sneakers that night, not heavy boots, Lilley said.

Elam, the prosecutor, countered that several eyewitnesses saw the attack, including two who saw him stomp on York, and that the jury should decide.

The judge said she would issue a ruling on Lilley’s motion on Friday morning.

The attorneys are expected to make their closing arguments after Gwaro’s testimony.