Toms River Man Pleads Guilty in Case That Left Child Dead

A Toms River man pled guilty yesterday to endangering the welfare of children by keeping unsecured firearms in his home.  This after a fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy by the defendant's 4-year-old son.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain says that Anthony Senatore, 35, pled guilty in Ocean County Superior Court to two counts of Endangering the Welfare of Children as the result of a negotiated plea agreement.

According to McClain,

 On April 8, 2013, Senatore’s 4-year-old son gained access to an unsecured .22 caliber
rifle in Senatore’s bedroom and fired a single shot that struck 6-year-old neighbor,
Brandon Holt, in the head. Holt was transported to the Jersey Shore University Medical
Center, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
Following Holt’s death, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General – Division of
Criminal Justice directed the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office to supersede the
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and take over the investigation into the
circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Concluding a month -long investigation by this Office, Senatore was arrested on
May 13,2013, charged with 6 counts of Endangering the Welfare of Children:
· one count each for thefive unsecured firearms found accessible to his own
children, for whom he has a legal duty of care — a 2nd degree offense, and
· one count of Endangering the Welfare of Brandon Holt, for keeping a
loaded .22 caliber rifle unsecured in a bedroom where his 4-year-old son was able to access
and fire the weapon —a 3rd degree offense.
The charges allege that, in addition to the loaded .22 caliber rifle used to fire the fatal
shot, a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun, two Harrington & Richardson shotguns and
a Remington 12-gauge shotgun were all found unsecured, in close proximity to
ammunition and accessible to Senatore’s own children, ages 12, 8 and 4.
Senatore was lodged in the Ocean County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash or bond bail set
by Atlantic County Superior Judge Kyran Connor. Senatore later posted bail and was
released. On September 25, 2013, an Ocean County Grand Jury indicted Senatore
on all six counts.
This morning, Senatore pled guilty before Ocean County Superior Court Judge Wendell
Daniels to one count of 2nd degree Endangering the Welfare of Children
for causing harm to the children for whom he has the legal duty of care, and to the 3
rd degree Endangering the Welfare of Children charge for the harm done
to Brandon Holt. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement,
Senatore will be sentenced — in the 3rd degree range on both charges
— to a term of incarceration in New Jersey State prison of 3years, the sentences to run concurrently.
Further, the State will submit a consent order
for the forfeiture by Senatore of his weapons and
his firearms purchaser ID card. Sentencing is scheduled for February 5, 2015
.
Senatore continues free on bail pending sentencing.
First Assistant Prosecutor Diane Rubert on represents the State in the matter.