YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A Boardman man Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court pleaded guilty to the September 2022 shooting death of his father.
Michael Bruno, 49, will be sentenced Monday at 10:30 a.m. by Judge Anthony D’Apolito on a charge of murder plus a three-year firearm specification.
The only sentence Bruno can receive is 18 years to life in prison.
The plea comes after Bruno spent several months in a mental health facility to have his competency restored after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
The attorneys in the case stipulated in May that Bruno’s competency was restored.
Bruno was charged with the Sept. 17, 2022, shooting death of his father, Michael Bruno Sr., 74, at a Leland Avenue home in Boardman.
The elder Bruno died of multiple gunshot wounds and was found lying in his yard by police who were called.
Reports said the younger Bruno, who was a deputy at one time with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, told officers he recently had COVID-19 and that the disease was “taking over America.”
Bruno told police a “disease made me do it” and that he shot his father with his “baby Glock,” reports said.
Bruno was treated at Heartland Behavioral Health, where his competency was restored.
