Police: Florida Men With Hatchet, Machete Clash in Publix Lot

Two Florida men are facing aggravated battery charges after police say a confrontation in a Publix parking lot escalated into violence involving a machete and a hatchet.

The Aug. 4 clash between Everette Krichbaum, 52, and James Gay, 35, stemmed from a dispute over a romantic interest, according to a police report.

Investigators in Panama City identified Gay as the “primary aggressor” in the altercation.

Krichbaum was sitting in his vehicle outside the Publix when Gay walked up to him and began a “verbal altercation,” the arrest affidavit states.

Gay then allegedly went back to his own vehicle and returned holding a sheathed machete, which he used to strike Krichbaum in the face, according to the document.

The conflict had reportedly been building over a woman Krichbaum is currently dating and Gay previously dated, Stephanie Marshall told News Outlet. Marshall, who told News Outlet she is Gay’s girlfriend, is also named as a witness in a Panama City Police Department report.

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 U.S. 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. News Outlet could not reach either man for comment.

It was not immediately clear if Krichbaum has an attorney. Gay is listed as representing himself.