El Cajon

A Municipal Court judge dismissed an attempted grand theft charge against attorney Michael Bruce on Thursday, ruling that there was insufficient evidence that he demanded $1,000 from an Alpine woman to bribe a prosecutor.

“I have no doubt that there was no intention in Mr. Bruce’s mind to bribe anyone, although he used that (representation), in my opinion, in violation of” the state Bar Assn. Code of Ethics, Judge H. Donald Domnitz said.

“Despite whose idea the bribe was, when he figured out he wasn’t going to get paid, he seized (the chance) in an effort to collect a fee . . . to which I find he was entitled.”

Carol Williams testified Wednesday that Bruce, 45, told her she “was probably going to jail” if she didn’t give him $1,000 to pay the deputy district attorney who was prosecuting her felony drunk-driving case.

Williams, who still owes Bruce nearly $2,000, subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunk-driving charge after the case was transferred from El Cajon Municipal Court to San Diego Superior Court.

Deputy State Atty. Gen. Peter Quon prosecuted the case because of the conflict of interest within the district attorney’s office. He said his office probably will alert the California Bar to the case. He also indicated that new charges could be filed.