PINELLAS CO., Fl. (LEX 18) — From millions of dollars to one spectacular downfall, the winner of the largest Kentucky Powerball jackpot in history was arrested just days after making history.
Georgetown mother and son, Linda Grizzle and James Farthing, publicly claimed a record-breaking lottery win on April 28, taking home the $167 million prize.
The following evening, Farthing was arrested on battery charges in Pinellas County, Florida.
In newly-obtained body camera footage, deputies can be seen responding to an altercation at a hotel bar in St. Pete. As a deputy arrests one of the men involved, Farthing can be seen kicking the deputy in the face.
As the deputy finishes handcuffing the first man, he then approaches Farthing, and can be heard yelling, “Put your hands behind your back right now! Put your hands behind your back and get against the wall!”
When Farthing tries to run away, the deputy tases him and another deputy tackles him to the ground.
Moments later, a deputy can be seen questioning Farthing’s girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, who’s sitting on the ground in the hotel lobby.
“We came to the Kentucky Lottery in Louisville and we claimed the check which was $167 million,” Fightmaster is heard telling the deputy, before she’s arrested for public intoxication.
Fightmaster was eventually released, and Farthing’s mother bonded him out of jail before he was extradited to Kentucky.
The lottery winner was released from the Scott County Jail on June 22 for time served. Farthing will be back in Florida in September for his case there.
According to the Kentucky Lottery, Farthing and his mother received their lottery winnings despite the events that followed.
