File photo / Ed Runyan Michael N. Bruno attends a hearing last December in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He pleaded guilty Thursday to killing his father at their home in Boardman.

YOUNGSTOWN — Michael N. Bruno, 50, pleaded guilty Thursday to murder and a gun specification in the Sept. 17, 2022, killing of his father, Michael J. Bruno, 74.

The elder Bruno was shot at their home on Lealand Avenue in Boardman. The son will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed the aggravated murder charge Bruno faced.

He entered his guilty pleas before Judge Anthony D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The judge only has one sentence he can give Bruno — 18 years to life in prison.

Michael N. Bruno was a former Mahoning County sheriff’s deputy. He told police he had been working as an unarmed security guard in the two weeks prior to killing his father.

Multiple mental health evaluations were conducted, and Bruno was sent to a state mental health hospital, where he was restored to competency to stand trial. He also was recently ruled sane at the time of the offense.

He began his time with the sheriff’s office as a reserve deputy in 1995 and became a full-time deputy in April 2000. He retired in November 2006, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Boardman police report stated that Bruno told police in a 7:30 a.m. call to 911 Sept. 17, 2022, that he shot his father, and he did it because “his illness made him do it.” It wasn’t clear what illness he was talking about.

Police arrived to find Bruno sitting on the front lawn in boxer shorts, flip-flops and a golf shirt, with blood on his arms, head and shirt, the report states.

At earller court appearances, the defendant appeared very confused and even tried to plead guilty, which is why the mental health evaluations were ordered.

erunyan@vindy.com