ANALYSIS:
A man who won a $167.3 million jackpot in the Powerball lottery last week on a ticket bought in Kentucky is now facing criminal charges for purportedly hitting a Florida sheriff’s deputy.
James Shannon Farthing, 50, of Georgetown, Kentucky, was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, on Tuesday night after Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Areostatico intervened in a bar fight Mr. Farthing was involved in.
Just days before the fight on April 26, Farthing and his mother, Linda Grizzle, split the win on a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot, the largest prize in Kentucky history. The winning white balls were 1, 12, 14, 18 and 69 with a red Powerball marked 2, the lottery said in a release.
The fight took place at TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, according to TCPalm.com. Mr. Farthing’s girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, 42, was also present and was heavily intoxicated and attempting to fight others at the bar, according to an affidavit.
Farthing, who has been charged with third-degree battery against a law enforcement officer, a felony, as well as simple battery and resisting an officer, both misdemeanors, is accused of kicking the deputy in his right cheek, according to an affidavit.
Ms. Fightmaster was charged with disorderly intoxication, a misdemeanor, and was released Wednesday.
Farthing, on the other hand, remains in custody on a Kentucky warrant for violating his parole.
He has previous convictions in that state for engaging in an organized criminal syndicate, drug trafficking, promoting contraband, theft, receiving stolen property, escape, tampering with evidence and possession of controlled substances, among others, according to WKYT-TV.
He also has previous parole violations and was most recently let out of custody on parole in September 2023, according to WKYT-TV. His parole was set to end after Aug. 27, according to TCPalm.com.
Ms. Grizzle and Farthing have yet to decide whether to take the lump sum cash option of $77.3 million or to take the 30 annual graduated payments.
“It’s going to be a good Mother’s Day. This is going to pay off my debt,” Ms. Grizzle said in the lottery release.
Farthing told WKYT-TV Sunday that “I’ve caused a lot of stress on her, you know, I’ve made some bad decisions in life, and you know, God’s been good cause I’ve kept my faith and done right, and something’s happened good for me.”
