The man who won the $167.3 million jackpot, the largest total ever won in the state of Kentucky, was arrested days after claiming his prize and reportedly identified as a decades-long criminal.
James Shannon Farthing, 50, was reported to have spent 30 years of his life incarcerated at 25 different jails before he won the Powerball jackpot in April with his mother, Linda Grizzle and girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster, according to TheSmokingGun.com. The overnight millionaire’s 16-page rap sheet reportedly includes accusations of strangling a girlfriend, bribing officers while in prison and selling cocaine to an undercover cop, the report stated.
Farthing’s most recent arrest came in May, three days after claiming his jackpot following an incident in which he allegedly punched another guest at the TradeWinds Resort at St. Petersburg Beach in Florida and violated his parole by leaving Kentucky without notifying his parole officer, a requirement based on his lengthy criminal history. Fightmaster was also arrested in relation to the incident at the Florida resort.
Farthing waived his right to probable cause and final revocation, instead choosing to serve an additional month in custody, before being released from Scott County jail last week, according to the Kentucky Parole Board. The 50-year-old purchased the winning Powerball ticket at Clark’s Pump N Shop in Georgetown, a store he frequents and said he was informed about his winnings from his mother.
“I come in here all the time,” Farthing said via WKYT. “I’m always buying [lottery tickets] ‘cause I’m like ‘somebody’s gotta win.’”
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are reported to be 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.com.
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