Lottery Winner Has Dizzying Criminal Record A “persistent felony offender” nabbed $167.3 million jackpot JULY 2--It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. In the two months since a winning Powerball ticket catapulted him into the 1 percent, James Farthing has spent most of his time residing in Florida and Kentucky. Specifically, county jails in those two states. On April 28, Farthing claimed a $167.3 million jackpot, the largest in Kentucky Lottery history. He had purchased the winning $2 ticket at a convenience store in Georgetown, a city where he shares an address with Linda Grizzle, his 77-year-old mother. Flanked by Grizzle and his girlfriend, a beaming Farthing was presented with an oversize check by lottery officials who announced that mother and son would be splitting the nine-figure windfall. Farthing, 50, was not quoted in a Kentucky Lottery press release, which only identified him by his middle (Shannon) and last names. Following the Powerball announcement, Farthing and his girlfriend flew to a beachfront resort in Florida to celebrate his good--and immense--fortune. Before traveling south, however, Farthing failed to take care of one crucial matter: getting permission from his parole officer to leave the Bluegrass State. Farthing has been categorized as a “persistent felony offender” by Kentucky law enforcement officials. He has a 16-page rap sheet and a dizzying criminal record that spans 35 years and includes convictions in at least nine counties and from every corner of Kentucky’s penal code. According to court records, Farthing strangled a girlfriend; sold cocaine to an undercover police informant; escaped from a prison work detail; bribed a corrections officer to deliver Xanax and Oxycodone into a state facility; possessed stolen firearms; and even involved his mother in a marijuana smuggling plot for which they were both indicted. Farthing has been locked up in at least 25 different correctional institutions, where he has spent, in aggregate, nearly 30 years in custody. During that time, Farthing continued to commit crimes while incarcerated and compiled a prison disciplinary record rife with assaults, narcotics possession, loansharking, gambling, drug smuggling, and positive tests for alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and depressants. He was also cited for an improper relationship with a female canteen staffer, charging inmates for the return of their stolen items, and “sending large amounts of money to people Internal Affairs cannot connect to him.” https://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/powerball-felon-294081
A day into his recent short-lived Florida vacation, Farthing allegedly punched a guest in the face during an 11 PM argument at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach. When a cop sought to break up the fight, Farthing kicked him in the face “in an attempt to injure and or incapacitate myself,” according to an arrest affidavit sworn by the officer. Farthing then refused to place his hands behind his back and “attempted to flee on foot out of the hotel,” reported Deputy Nicholas Areostatico, who said the kick left him with “pain in my face” and “swelling and redness” under his right eye. Farthing was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County jail for battery on a law enforcement officer, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of resisting police and battery. In addition to the Florida charges, a fugitive warrant was lodged against Farthing for, once again, violating his Kentucky parole (this time for not securing travel permission). After several weeks in the Florida jail, Farthing was extradited in late-May to Kentucky, where he was detained in the Scott County lockup. Aware that their inmate was newly wealthy, Kentucky jailers kept Farthing’s name and photo off an online jail roster due to publicity and safety concerns. According to the Kentucky Parole Board, Farthing waived his right to probable cause and final revocation hearings, opting instead to serve an additional month in custody. He was freed from the Scott County jail last week.
Wow. That's crazy! $5 million of his winnings should go to the state of Kentucky for all the time & money they've spent dealing with this jackass.
