PANAMA CITY, FL- A so-called “physical altercation” between two men in a Publix Supermarket parking lot in Florida has led to the arrests of two men, police said.
Fox News Digital reports that Everette Krichbaum, 52, and James Gay, 35, have been charged with aggravated battery after the pair armed themselves—one with a machete, the other with a hatchet. The altercation took place over a “love interest,” police said.
According to detectives, Gay was the “primary aggressor” in the incident, which took place on August 4.
James Gay
Reports said that Krichbaum was sitting in his car in the Publix parking lot when Gay approached him and started to verbally lambast him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Gay momentarily left, then returned with a machete still in its sheath. He allegedly hit Krichbaum in the face with it, the affidavit said.
Stephanie Marshall, who identified herself to Fox News Digital as the woman the pair was in a dispute over. She said that she is currently dating Krichbaum and had previously dated Gay. The Panama City Police Department identified her as a witness on the police report.
Gay told police that as the two men squared off to fight, Krichbaum began swinging a hatchet. When officers arrived, they found Gay with a deep cut on his pinky finger, exposing the bone, and a puncture wound in his lower abdomen, arrest records stated.
Meanwhile, Krichbaum had multiple lacerations to his face and hands, the police report said. Krichbaum claimed he lost consciousness when struck in the head by Gay with a machete.
Everette Krichbaum
Both men were transported to a local hospital for treatment. The police report stated that Gay told police he was “attacked...over his ex-girlfriend.” Gay was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The latest arrest isn’t Gay’s first rodeo. In 2011, he was convicted of aggravated battery in the killing of a 16-year-old boy near Panama City. In that case, Gay used a chain wrapped around his hand and fractured the skull of the victim, according to court records. Other co-defendants were also charged in connection with the boy’s death.
In 2012, Gay was sentenced to 15 years in prison; however, he was released early in June 2024, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
After being released from the hospital on Aug. 5, Krichbaum was arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service. He was charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
As of last Friday, both men were still being held at the Bay County Jail. Fox News Digital attempted to contact both suspects for comment but was unable to reach either.
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