SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A man convicted of attempted manslaughter in a 2019 traffic stop that injured a Seminole County deputy was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison.
Rocky Rudolph, 42, was found guilty by a jury last month of attempted manslaughter, aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, resisting an officer without violence, fleeing/attempting to elude, attempting to deprive an officer of protection communication and possession of cannabis.
During his sentencing hearing Wednesday, Rudolph made a brief statement to say he apologized for unintentional actions and did not mean any harm to the deputy, adding the deputy’s actions caused him to panic and he had respect for law enforcement. Tyrenza Hamilton, Rudolph’s sister-in-law, echoed and elaborated this rhetoric in support of the defense.
“He don’t deserve 30 years. Clearly on the video you can see he was in fear. Yeah, he did commit a crime, but he don’t deserve 30 years for it (...) He has a disabled sister. His daddy is getting old. We need his help. We need him out here,” she said. “...He was sincere with his apology. He meant that, so I don’t understand.”
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Rudolph faced up to a life sentence in prison due in part to being a felon with multiple convictions, according to the State Attorney’s Office of the 18th Judicial Circuit.
While Hamilton said Rudolph had served his time for those past actions, Assistant State Attorney Gino Feliciani used them to instead support his claim that Rudolph “absolutely would have committed more crimes.”
“The longest stretch of time that he went without committing a crime is this last stretch because he’s been in jail for four and a half years,” Feliciani said, adding his thoughts that justice was served Wednesday and that the sentence was not excessive given the possible alternative.
“He could have gotten life in prison. He’s a habitual felony offender, so he has to have at least two prior felonies — one of which occurred within five years of this last charge — and he has at least 20 felony convictions on his record,” Feliciani said.
Deputy Aaron Blais wrote a victim impact statement that he didn’t want read in open court.
The traffic stop was caught on camera, and the video shows Rudolph struggling with the deputy’s gun before starting to drive off and dragging him toward Interstate 4, where the deputy lets go and falls away from the SUV as Rudolph speeds off.
A manhunt led to Rudolph’s capture within about a day’s time. He was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility after being treated at a local hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg.
During his trial in January, Rudolph testified that he was in fear for his life. Prosecutors said he was trying to avoid arrest over his possession of cannabis and a firearm — which authorities said was a handgun reported stolen out of Seminole County in 2016 — as a convicted felon. The jury sided with prosecutors.
Rudolph will serve a concurrent sentence on the following counts:
- Attempted manslaughter by act - 5 years
- Aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer - 30 years
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon - 15 years
- Resisting an officer without violence - 364 days
- Fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer - 5 years
- Attempted depriving an officer of means of protection - 5 years
- Possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis - 364 days
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