Michael Drejka, who was convicted of a fatal shooting in a Clearwater parking lot last year, was attacked in prison on Tuesday.
One of his attorneys said Drejka was beaten by a fellow inmate at Lancaster Correctional Institution near Gainesville.
Bryant Camareno tells Spectrum Bay News 9 his client's wife called him to tell him about the attack.
"Somebody put a lock in a sock and started attacking him and made references that they recognized him from the big case, the murder trial in Pinellas County, and just started attacking him and beating him," Camareno said.
A statement from the Florida Department of Corrections says the investigation is continuing, and Drejka is being kept away from other prisoners for the time being.
"Right now, what's paramount is his safety,” Camareno said. “If it takes to be placed in solitary to avoid this happening again, then so be it. But no, I think my understanding is he'd rather be in general population, where he can at least get some activity, interact with other people."
Drejka was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter in the 2018 death of Markeis McGlockton.
That case received national attention over whether the shooting was a case of self-defense.
