LAKE COUNTY — Arson and first-degree murder charges against former Lucerne resident Charlton Alexander Bruff were dismissed Thursday afternoon, according to defense attorney Steven Carter, who has defended Bruff since his case began in March 2006. Bruff was released from the Lake County Jail Thursday evening.
Bruff was arrested March 13, 2006 in connection with a house fire on March 1, 2006. The blaze lead to the death of Julie Gilbertson, 46, Bruff”s girlfriend of two years. Two Thursday press releases from Carter and Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins both say Bruff attempted to save Gilbertson from the blaze. Lucerne firefighters responded at approximately 1:40 p.m. to the Frontage Road home. Gilbertson later died from smoke inhalation, according to the DA”s press release.
A defense investigation launched in January 2007 turned up evidence of which only the defense was aware, according to the release, written by prosecuting chief deputy district attorney Richard Hinchcliff. The release says prosecution became aware of the evidence on Jan. 8, seven days before Bruff”s jury trial was set to begin.
“Ordinarily, my experience has been that if a defense attorney has information having a direct baring on the innocence of their client, they contact the prosecution and the prosecution acts on it,” Hopkins said Thursday. “For them to say they can”t trust us with evidence of innocence is really the key on what happened here, because if they had given us the evidence when they uncovered it early last year, Mr. Bruff would have been free from jail a long time ago.”
“I realize the district attorney”s office takes the attitude that if we had given them this earlier they could have dismissed the charges earlier. That”s not my experience with that DA”s office these days, especially when it comes to murder,” Carter said. “It”s extremely difficult to get a murder case dismissed, and it”s impossible for them to say now what they would have done last spring, because this is all cumulative.” Carter said the defense is not obligated to release details of an investigation to the prosecution.
Carter wrote in his press release that Bruff, a Jamaican national, was misunderstood in his initial interview with law enforcement. “Mr. Bruff was arrested based on an arson dog detecting alleged accelerants in the house and several statements Bruff allegedly made which the police took to be ”admissions,”” Carter wrote.
“He has very few teeth … and speaks a dialect called Patois – sometimes called Jamaican creole,” Carter”s release says. “He did not say what they think he said. It was taken completely out of context and he was in a very emotional state. Our speech expert did away with the idea that any sort of admission took place.”
Hopkins said no plans are in place to refile. Hinchcliff”s press release states, “If we went to trial at this time, and the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty we would be permanently barred from prosecuting Mr. Bruff, even if additional evidence developed in the future that strengthened our case.”
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