Stupid Criminal: Powerball Winner Kicks Cop in the Face One Day After Scoring $167 Million
If you thought money bought common sense, let this wild tale prove otherwise.
Meet James Farthing, a 50-year-old ex-con from Kentucky who just had the luck of a lifetime—winning a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot. On Monday, he was all smiles, standing proudly with his oversized check, planning to split the fortune with his 77-year-old mother. For a second, it looked like a true redemption arc. But less than 24 hours later, Farthing flipped the script in the dumbest way possible.
On Tuesday, while staying at an oceanfront hotel in Florida (because of course), Farthing got into a full-blown brawl. Punches were thrown, and when a sheriff’s deputy tried to intervene, James decided the best move was to kick the cop in the face. Yes, really.
The officer was dazed and bruised, but he’s expected to be okay. James, on the other hand, was hit with a felony battery charge on a law enforcement officer, along with two misdemeanors. And because he’s on parole, the fallout could be even worse—he’s currently being held in jail and may be heading right back to prison. So much for early retirement.
And it wasn’t just James causing chaos that night. His girlfriend, 42-year-old Jacqueline Fightmaster, was also arrested after reportedly being drunk and disorderly during the same incident. This Powerball fairy tale is looking more like a tabloid tragedy by the minute.
If this is what day two of jackpot life looks like, we can only imagine what day three holds. One thing’s for sure: the universe has a wicked sense of humor.
Check out the full breakdown, plus their mugshots, over at The Smoking Gun.
