Recently revealed body camera footage captures a $167 million Powerball jackpot winner kicking a man as a deputy apprehends him. Although the police video doesn’t provide a completely clear view, the deputy promptly accused the lottery winner of also hitting him in the face.
“He f—ing kicked me in the face, he”s f—ing going,” the deputy said.
The agitated deputy expressed his anger by shouting an expletive when he returned to his vehicle to retrieve gloves. According to the police report, the deputy’s face showed signs of swelling and redness, particularly below his right eye.
The situation worsened for the suspect when he tried to flee from the deputies, leading to a bad fall as one tackled him to the ground, causing noticeable bleeding on the scene.
This incident took place merely two days after James Farthing, 50, experienced a stroke of fortune by winning the Powerball in Kentucky with his mother. Farthing and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, 42, had been celebrating at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, as previously mentioned.
Footage shows a Pinellas County deputy arriving to find an Iowa resident engaged in a scuffle with Farthing on April 29. The Iowa resident later stated he had been hit in the jaw by Farthing and was acting in self-defense.
Bleeding on the floor, Farthing voiced an apology after the deputy complained about getting kicked.
“Save your f—ing sorries for later!” the deputy said.
The legal proceedings against Farthing, including charges for battery of a law enforcement officer, simple battery, and resisting an officer without violence, continue. He has entered a not guilty plea. Fightmaster, on the other hand, quickly resolved her case by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly intoxication, receiving one day of jail time served, and was required to pay $570 in fines and fees.
As seen on footage, Fightmaster, who was sitting on the floor, told the deputy that “nothing” happened that night.
Authorities did not charge the second man in the fight.
