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Visiting Judge Linton D. Lewis from Perry County ruled against Bruns’ April 13 request to suspend the rest of his jail sentence. Lewis wrote that Bruns will be allowed to leave jail from 7 p.m. the day before his daughter’s graduation until 7 p.m. the next day.
Bruns’ attorney Charles Wagner wrote that his client has made full restitution, jail has had a drastic effect on Bruns and his family and that there were mitigating factors to reduce his sentence.
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Wagner said Bruns held full-time employment for 25 years, served in the Air National Guard, was a volleyball coach, Special Olympics volunteer, been married for 21 years, is a father to two children and is at low risk to re-offend.
“David recognizes that these consequences are a result of his own actions and this writer has seen genuine remorse for what he has done to not only the victims but also his former boss, wife (Julie, a prosecutor and second cousin to county prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.) and children,” Wagner wrote, who argued that over-incarceration can negatively affect lower-risk offenders.
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“David is contrite; David has made restitution; David has suffered personal and family consequences; David has learned his lesson.”
Bruns, who worked in the foreclosure division of Heck’s office, pleaded guilty in December to stealing money three ways from 2011 until 2016.
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Bruns also was ordered to spend five years on community control, do 200 hours of community service, pay court costs and a $250 supervision fee, get verified employment, abstain from illegal drugs and alcohol and pay back the balance of the money he owes.
Special prosecutors Ron O’Brien and Jeffrey Blake from Franklin County wrote that the judge’s sentence was “fair and measured” and deferred to the court’s “good judgment” about any early release.
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Wagner said Bruns’ previous employment may create an atmosphere of risk for Bruns inside the Montgomery County Jail.
Wagner also wrote that the sooner his client is released, the sooner he can get a job and complete his community service “and again become a productive part of the community which is clearly the goal of the criminal justice system.”
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