Two men from Florida are facing charges of aggravated battery after engaging in a heated confrontation armed with a machete and a hatchet in a Publix parking lot.
The altercation took place on August 4 and reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a romantic involvement, involving Everette Krichbaum, 52, and James Gay, 35, according to the police report.
Investigators identified Gay as the “primary aggressor” in the confrontation that unfolded in Panama City.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has charged both Everette Krichbaum and James Gay with aggravated battery.
According to the arrest affidavit, Krichbaum was seated in his vehicle when Gay approached and initiated a “verbal altercation” in the Publix parking lot.
Gay then allegedly returned to his vehicle and came back with a machete in its sheath. He hit Krichbaum in the face with it, the document shows.
A feud between the two men had been brewing over a woman that Krichbaum is dating and Gay used to date, Stephanie Marshall told News Media. Marshall, who identified herself to News Media as Gay’s girlfriend, is listed as a witness on a report by the Panama City Police Department.
James Gay and Stephanie Marshall have been dating since June, Marshall told News Media on Aug. 5, 2026. (Courtesy of Stephanie Marshall)
As the two men squared up, Krichbaum started swinging a hatchet, Gay told police.
When officers arrived, they found Gay with a deep cut on his pinky finger, exposing the bone, and a puncture in his lower abdomen, according to arrest records.
Krichbaum had multiple lacerations to his hands and face, the police report shows. He told investigators he became unconscious when Gay hit him in the head with a machete.
Shoppers use the crosswalk in front of a Publix supermarket in Alachua, Fla., on July 20, 2026. (Natasha Holt for News Media)
Both Gay and Krichbaum were taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. The police report shows that Gay told police he was “attacked … over his ex-girlfriend.”
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office assisted the U.S. Marshals Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force with arresting Everette Krichbaum on Aug. 5. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
That same day, Gay was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
It wasn’t his first altercation that turned violent, records show. In 2011, he was convicted of aggravated battery in the killing of a 16-year-old boy near Panama City. In that incident, Gay used a chain wrapped around his hand to fracture the skull of the teen, court records show. Other co-defendants also were charged in the boy’s death.
In 2012, Gay was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released early in June 2024, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
On Aug. 5, after Krichbaum was released from the hospital, he was arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service. He’s been charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
Everette Krichbaum, 52, has been charged with aggravated battery after allegedly swinging a weapon in a fight in Panama City, Fla. on Aug. 4, 2026. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
As of Aug. 7, both Gay and Krichbaum were being held in the Bay County Jail. News Media could not reach either man for comment.
It was not immediately clear if Krichbaum has an attorney. Gay is listed as representing himself.