A homeless man has been sentenced to prison for trapping a clerk in a RaceTrac station restroom in Sanford and slashing her with a box knife in 2024.

RANDAL l. LAWTON, 64, pled no contest Aug. 19 to kidnapping, aggravated battery, and resisting an officer without violence. Circuit Judge Michael Rudisill sentenced Lawton to 8-1/2 years in prison followed by two years of GPS-monitored probation. He also ordered Lawton to undergo a psychological evaluation upon leaving prison and to “successfully complete any recommended follow-up treatment” as a condition of probation.

Prosecutor Jessie Canario had lined up witnesses, including the victim, who said Lawton trapped the clerk in the men’s bathroom at the gas station on U.S. 17/92 after asking her to restock toilet paper. Lawton shoved her to the ground and sliced her neck and chin with a box cutter while calling her “Eve” and telling her, “You are sorry for your sins, Eve.”  

A coworker and customer called Sanford Police. After hearing the victim’s cries from inside the restroom, officers breached the door, stopped Lawton at gunpoint, and arrested him.

The victim lost a tooth in the struggle and suffered deep lacerations to her hand when she grabbed for the knife to protect herself, police said.

Lawton’s public defender filed notice in June 2025 of his intent to mount an insanity defense. A defense expert wrote in a report that Lawton suffered from a neurological disorder caused by years of alcohol abuse that could result in psychosis. But Judge Rudisill found Lawton competent to stand trial based on Lawton’s most recent court-ordered evaluation.

Lawton, meanwhile, remained in the Seminole County jail while awaiting trial. He will receive credit for the 810 days spent already incarcerated.