Motion to dismiss manslaughter charge denied for shooter of ex-FSU star's father

Attorney says Paul Senat accidentally shot Travis Rudolph's father through wall

Paul Senat faces a manslaughter charge in the shooting death of Darryl Rudolph, who is the father of former Florida State University wide receiver Travis Rudolph.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A criminal charge won't be going away -- at least for now -- for a man facing trial in the fatal shooting of a former Florida State University football star's father.

Palm Beach County Judge Glenn Kelley on Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss the manslaughter charge against Paul Senat.

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Darryl Rudolph was shot in the neck with an AK-47 assault rifle while he was making a repair at a West Palm Beach strip club last April.

According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, Senat told detectives he was in the office with Rudolph, 55, and co-owner David Fiore, but Senat left to move the rifle, which was kept on a shelf in an adjacent liquor room.

Senat, who co-owns Sugar Daddy's Cabaret, said he grabbed the gun and it discharged, firing a single shot that went through the wall and struck Rudolph.

Fiore said he heard a loud bang and then saw Rudolph fall to the ground. 

Senat said he didn't recall how he grabbed the rifle when it fired, Detective Jimmy Francisco wrote in the affidavit. 

"Senat's conduct was a grossly careless disregard of the safety and welfare of others," Francisco wrote. 

An attorney for Senat argued that the shooting was an accident that didn't amount to manslaughter by culpable negligence, but Kelley ruled otherwise.

Travis Rudolph, who played football at Cardinal Newman High School, made headlines after he ate with an autistic boy who was sitting alone while the Seminoles were visiting a Tallahassee middle school. The wide receiver left FSU after the 2016 season and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent.

He was not in court for Wednesday's hearing.