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.Everette Krichbaum and James Gay have been charged with aggravated battery.
(Bay County Sheriff's Office)VIDEO SHOWS MOMENTS BEFORE ARMY VETERAN WAS FATALLY SHOT IN WALMART PARKING LOT DISPUTEKrichbaum 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.‘VIBRANT’ FLORIDA GRANDMA ALLEGEDLY KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT OUTSIDE PUBLIX, FAMILY FIGHTS FOR JUSTICEJames Gay and Stephanie Marshall have been dating since June, Marshall told Fox News Digital on Aug.5, 2026.
(Courtesy of Stephanie Marshall)As the two men squared up, Krichbaum started swinging a hatchet, Gay told police.MYRTLE BEACH MAN WITH LENGTHY ARREST RECORD CHARGED WITH STABBING TWO PEOPLE IN POPULAR BEACH DESTINATIONWhen 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.Shoppers use the crosswalk in front of a Publix supermarket in...