Florida men wielding hatchet and machete clash in Publix parking lot, police say

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Two Florida men have been charged with aggravated battery after allegedly taking up arms — one with a machete and one with a hatchet — in a Publix parking lot.

The Aug. 4 “physical altercation” between Everette Krichbaum, 52, and James Gay, 35, was over a love interest, according to a police report.

Detectives reported Gay was the “primary aggressor” in the incident in Panama City.

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Krichbaum was sitting in his car in the Publix parking lot when Gay first approached him and started a “verbal altercation,” according to the arrest affidavit.

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 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.

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As the two men squared up, Krichbaum started swinging a hatchet, Gay told police.

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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.

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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.”

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That same day, Gay was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

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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.

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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.