Court affirms sentence in attempted murder case

Trice, 28, opted for a bench trial in front of Huntingdon County President Judge George Zanic, was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in state prison. The two-day trial was held in January 2022; sentencing followed in April.

In his appeal, Trice and counsel argued that the sentence imposed by Zanic was unfair for two reasons. First, they argue that testimony was insufficient to establish guilt. Second, they say the punishment prescribed by Zanic was excessive.

During Trice’s sentencing hearing, Zanic announced that he intended to go outside the guidelines, saying Trice demonstrated an “unusual and extreme level of cruelty” in his attack on Watson.

“This is as close to a homicide as you can get,” Zanic said.

According to state police, Watson was driving around town on the morning of the attack when he saw Trice and gave him a ride. Police say when they reached the north end of Division street, Trice poured lighter fluid on Watson, then set him on fire.

When Watson exited the vehicle, Trice attacked him with a knife, police say.

Watson testified that he was “fighting for his life” between the burns and the knife.

The two men are cousins and both were visiting Mount Union that summer.

The Superior Court opinion, written by Judge Judith Ference Olson, rejects the argument that there was no evidence presented at trial linking Trice to the crime.

At trial, Trice’s attorney Tim Burns During suggested that no one, not even the victim, was able to confirm exactly how the fire started. Burns challenged how law enforcement identified Trice as the individual seen in video evidence, noting the individual’s face isn’t clear.

Citing trial records, the Superior Court opinion highlights several pieces of testimony and evidence that place Trice at the scene, including eye-witness statements and the presence of Watson’s blood on Trice’s shoe.

Police found a piece of Trice’s bloodied clothing discarded in the bushes at the school; his bloodied shoe was located at his grandmother’s home, where he was staying that summer.

As for the argument claiming the sentence was excessive, the Superior Court points out that Zanic reviewed and relied upon a pre-sentence investigation report as he was formulating a penalty. The higher court also points out that sentencing guidelines are “purely advisory in nature” and that a judge “is permitted to deviate from them if it places its reasons on the record.

The Superior Court noted that Zanic put his reasons for exceeding the guidelines on the record, including the “heinous nature” and cruelty of the crime, the defendant’s lack of remorse, the victim’s ongoing medical consequences and how the crime caused “terror” in the local community.

“There is nothing in the record to suggest that the sentencing court ignored or misapplied the law, exercised its judgement for reasons of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will or arrived at a manifestly unreasonable decision,” the Superior Court opinion states.

A passerby witnessed the final moments of the attack and called 911, then rendered aid. Police and emergency medical staff followed.

Watson, according to medical testimony presented at trial, was hospitalized for two and one-half months, underwent three skin graphs and had surgery on his eye and thumb.

During his time on the stand, Watson told the court he “was in a state of shock or surprise,” when he realized he was on fire. “I was wondering, is this true, is this real?”

One of Watson’s doctors from his time at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh told the court the victim’s injuries were life-threatening.

“A burn that severe and of this size has an impact on the whole body,” Dr. Jennifer Ziembicki, trauma and burn surgeon, said. “The impact is profound and persistent.”