Father of boy, 4, who killed playmate rejects plea deal

• Anthony Senatore%27s son shot and 6-year-old Brandon Holt on April 8
• Other weapons were found unsecured in Senatore%27s home
• If convicted%2C he faces five to 10 years in prison for four of the child endangerment charges%2C and up to five years in prison on a fifth charge.

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- The man whose 4-year-old son shot and killed his 6-year-old neighbor rejected on Monday a chance to plead guilty to child endangerment charges in exchange for seven years in prison.

Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels revealed the deal at Anthony Senatore's arraignment on six counts of child endangerment.

Senatore, 34, is accused of keeping a loaded .22-caliber rifle unsecured in his bedroom, where his 4-year-old son got hold of it on April 8.

The boy brought the rifle out to the Senatores' yard in Toms River, where the family lived at the time, and fired one shot that struck Brandon Holt in the head, authorities said.

Brandon died the next day at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

The state is seeking guilty pleas to two counts of child endangerment, one a second-degree offense with a potential prison term up to 10 years, and another third-degree offense carrying a prison term up to five years.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, the state would recommend a seven-year term for one of the offenses and a four-year term for the other, with both terms running concurrently, Daniels said.

Senatore, accompanied by his wife, Melissa, in court, appeared calm as his attorney Robert Ebberup entered a not guilty plea on his client's behalf.

A group of spectators believed to be tied to Brandon Holt's family sat in the courtroom but declined to comment.

Outside the courtroom, following the arraignment, Ebberup said, "My position right now is, we don't feel that jail is something that is appropriate."

Senatore also is accused of keeping other firearms unsecured and accessible to his own children, for a total of six counts of child endangerment. He was indicted on the charges on Sept. 25.

The charges allege that in addition to the loaded rifle that fired the fatal shot, a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun, two Harrington & Richardson shotguns and a Remington 12-gauge shotgun all were found unsecured in Senatore's house close to ammunition and accessible to Senatore's children, who were ages 12, 8, and 4.

The state Division of Criminal Justice directed the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office to take over the case to avoid a conflict of interest because some of Senatore family members have worked with Ocean County law enforcement. The venue of the case remains in Ocean County.

Senatore was free on $100,000 bail. He had rented a home in the same McCormick Drive cul-de-sac as the Holt family, but has since moved with his family to Berkeley, where he was arrested May 13, following a monthlong investigation into the shooting.

In addition to the child endangerment charges, the Holt family has filed a lawsuit against Robert and Melissa Senatore, seeking more than $1 million in damages. The suit claims the Senatores acted recklessly in the death of Brandon.

Daniels scheduled a conference in Senatore's child endangerment case for Jan. 27.