Kirby Bradford, accused of shooting a Palermo man to death last year, has been indicted on a new charge in the case.
Bradford, 59, was indicted Thursday on a charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person by a Waldo County grand jury. In November, he was indicted for the murder of Robert Bruso, a 56-year-old contractor he had known for more than 20 years.
In September, police charged Bradford in Bruso killing, which they say occurred on or around Feb. 8, 2025.
After Robert Bruso’s friends and family did not hear from him for weeks in early 2025, they asked the police to conduct a wellness check in April 2025. Officers found Bruso’s body on his property. His dog Lennie was missing and has never been found.
It took more than four months for police to arrest Bradford, who did auto-body work and had been working on Bruso’s trucks as recently as January, according to Tiffany Paradis, a close friend of Bruso’s.
Bradford has a lengthy criminal record, according to his state criminal history report, starting when he was 18 and found guilty on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing government administration. Over the next several years, he was found guilty of other misdemeanors, such as carrying a concealed weapon and criminal mischief.
In 1999, he was found guilty of being a habitual motor vehicle offender, a felony, and sentenced to five years of prison, with all but three years suspended.
In July 2025, months after Bruso was found dead, Bradford was arrested and charged with possession of more than 2 grams of cocaine base. He was also charged with illegally possessing a firearm, which he was prohibited from doing under the Controlled Substances Act, according to his criminal history report.
A month later he was arrested again after allegedly robbing a Waterville shoe store, according to his criminal history report and news reports.
He was still in jail on those charges when he was charged in September with Bruso’s murder.
Bradford is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear next in court on April 7.
