Mistrial Declared in Slaying of 2 in Desert Near Palmdale

The trial of a Palmdale man originally charged with executing two men in the Mojave Desert ended in a mistrial Wednesday after jurors said they could not agree on a verdict.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard Schwab ordered a new trial for Brad Millward, 30, on charges that he killed Bruce Gruber, 28, of Yucca Valley.

Millward was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the July 5, 1987, slayings of Gruber and Albert Dulyea, 37, of Norwalk. Last week, however, jurors acquitted him of Dulyea’s death.

Jury foreman Joyce Tisher said the jury split six to six on whether to convict Millward of first-degree murder for Gruber’s death. She said testimony from ballistics experts convinced most jurors that Millward shot Gruber, but some believed he fired in self-defense.

Jurors were not given the opportunity to convict Millward of a lesser charge. Before deliberations began, Schwab instructed them that their only options were a conviction for first-degree murder or acquittal.

During the four-month trial, Millward testified that Gruber and Danny Lucero, 22, of Palmdale, were trying to kill him because they believed he was a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. Lucero was aiming for Millward when he shot Gruber by accident, Millward said.

Lucero testified that he was driving home from a party when he happened upon the crime scene, near Palmdale. He said he saw Millward shoot Gruber in the head and flee into the desert.

Before jurors reported their deadlock, prosecutors, sensing the disagreement, offered Millward a plea bargain. In exchange for a guilty plea to a reduced count of voluntary manslaughter, he would be sentenced to 13 years. Millward, however, maintained his innocence and refused the offer, which will stand until Oct. 20.