Two men from Florida find themselves facing aggravated battery charges following an alleged confrontation involving weapons at a Publix parking lot. The confrontation saw one wielding a machete and the other armed with a hatchet.
The altercation, which took place on August 4 between 52-year-old Everette Krichbaum and 35-year-old James Gay, was reportedly fueled by a dispute over a romantic interest, according to official police documents.
Investigators noted that Gay was identified as the “primary aggressor” in the clash that occurred in Panama City.
The encounter unfolded with Krichbaum seated in his vehicle within the Publix parking lot when Gay allegedly initiated a verbal confrontation, as detailed in the arrest affidavit.
According to officials, Gay then allegedly returned to his own vehicle, retrieving a machete still in its sheath, and proceeded to strike Krichbaum in the face with it.
A feud between the two men had been brewing over a woman that Krichbaum is dating and Gay used to date, Stephanie Marshall told Fox News Digital. Marshall, who identified herself to Fox News Digital as Gay’s girlfriend, is listed as a witness on a report by the Panama City Police Department.
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.
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.”
That same day, Gay was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
It wasn’t Gay’s 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 US Marshals Service. He’s been charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
As of Aug. 7, both Gay and Krichbaum were being held in the Bay County Jail. Fox News Digital could not reach either man for comment.
It was not immediately clear if Krichbaum has an attorney. Gay is listed as representing himself.