Both men have substantial connection to the woman in dispute: Stephanie Marshall, who told Fox News Digital she has been dating Gay since June, while a feud between the two men had been brewing over a woman that Krichbaum is dating and Gay used to date.
Two Florida men, Everette Krichbaum, 52, and James Gay, 35, were charged with aggravated battery after a physical altercation over a love interest on Aug. 4 in a Panama City Publix parking lot.
The fight happened Aug. 4 in the parking lot of the Publix at 4601 Lindsey Crossing, with Panama City police identifying the men as James Tristan Gay, 35, and Everette Eric Krichbaum, 52.
Krichbaum was sitting in his vehicle when Gay drove up and stopped nearby, and witnesses told investigators Gay got out of his vehicle and approached Krichbaum in an aggressive manner, leading to a verbal confrontation.
Krichbaum said he felt threatened due to his age and inability to physically defend himself and flashed a hatchet in an attempt to deter Gay.
Gay then returned to his vehicle, retrieved a machete and approached Krichbaum again.
As the two men squared up, Krichbaum started swinging a hatchet, Gay told police.
Gay hit Krichbaum in the face with the machete while it was still in its sheath, leading to a struggle over both weapons.
Gay admitted during a recorded interview that he intentionally stopped to confront Krichbaum over prior issues, according to the affidavit.
During an interview with investigators, Gay stated that he was aware that he could have left the scene before the machete fight broke out, but didn’t, arguing that “personal pride” prevented him from doing so.
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 told investigators he became unconscious when Gay hit him in the head with a machete.
Gay said he hit Krichbaum in the face with the machete and also said he hit Krichbaum in the head and stomped him while he was on the ground.
The woman, who was present during the fight, provided video of the altercation to authorities.
Both men were transported to the hospital for treatment. Gay was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, while Krichbaum was charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
In the viral moment that preceded this arrest, 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. James Gay and Stephanie Marshall have been dating since June, a timeline that directly overlaps with and undercuts Gay’s claim that the conflict is simply about his ex-girlfriend.
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 which Gay used a chain wrapped around his hand to fracture the skull of the teen.
In 2012, Gay was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released early in June 2024, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Krichbaum was booked into the Bay County Jail at 11:35 a.m. Aug. 7, with his listed charge being aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability, and his bond was set at $50,000.
As of Aug. 7, both Gay and Krichbaum were being held in the Bay County Jail, with Fox News Digital unable to reach either man for comment—it was not immediately clear if Krichbaum has an attorney, and Gay is listed as representing himself.