BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
STARKE— On Wednesday, July 20, a Bradford County jury convicted Zeth Thomas Trawick, 40, of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of contraband in a state correctional institution.
According to court papers, the victim and defendant, both inmates at Florida State Prison, arranged to fight in a shower area after an argument. The two inmates agreed not to bring weapons to the fight.
However, during the brawl, after the victim landed several blows to Trawick’s head, the defendant brandished an improvised knife and stabbed the victim several times in the groin area. The victim was flown to Shands UF in critical condition and later recovered from his injuries.
Circuit Judge James M. Colaw sentenced Trawick to 15 years, which will run consecutively to his life sentence for second-degree murder.
In 2009 Trawick was sentenced to life for killing a man in DeLand at a convenience store.
Witnesses said the victim: 29-year-old Steven Story did not like the way Trawick’s roommate stared at him in the store and started a fight with the roommate. When Story then turned to confront Trawich, the then-26-year-old stabbed him in the neck.
