Less than a year ago, James Farthing stood next to his mother holding an oversized check and told Kentucky Lottery officials that winning $167.3 million was going to make it “a good Mother’s Day.” On Sunday, his mother posted his $10,000 bond after police say he broke into a stranger’s home and took $12,000 in cash.
Farthing, 51, was arrested Saturday evening in Lexington on charges of second-degree burglary and marijuana possession. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday afternoon and walked out of Fayette District Court without taking questions from reporters.
The $12,000
According to the arrest citation, a woman on Kenesaw Drive in Lexington told police she saw Farthing on her security camera at the side door of her home around 7 p.m. Saturday. She reported hearing what sounded like her door being forced open, and after the suspect left, she discovered $12,000 in cash missing from the residence.
Police say Farthing fled the scene in a black Porsche before officers arrived. About two hours later, they found the vehicle in the parking lot of Red Mile Gaming and Racing, a horse track and casino in Lexington, and located Farthing inside the facility. He was taken into custody without incident, according to the citation. Officers reported seeing a burnt marijuana blunt in the Porsche’s ashtray and finding additional marijuana during a search of the vehicle.
The lump sum payout on Farthing’s Powerball jackpot was $77.3 million before taxes. The amount police say he took from a stranger’s home Saturday night is roughly what that kind of money generates in interest every few hours.
Forty-eight hours
That is how long the feel-good version of the James Farthing story lasted.
Kentucky $167 Million Powerball winner James Farthing who was tased last year after kicking a Florida deputy just got arrested for breaking into a home and stealing $12,000 cash pic.twitter.com/bwNgEKmbhA
— Crime Net (@TRIGGERHAPPYV1) March 30, 2026
On April 26, 2025, Farthing and his mother, Linda Grizzle, learned that a $2 ticket purchased at Clark’s Pump-N-Shop in Georgetown had won $167.3 million — the largest lottery prize in Kentucky history. They collected the check two days later. Farthing posed for photographs alongside Grizzle and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fightmaster — whose name, for the record, is real.
Two days after that, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Farthing at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. According to the sheriff’s office, he got into a fight with another hotel guest and punched the man in the face. When a deputy tried to intervene, Farthing allegedly kicked him. Bodycam footage released by the sheriff’s office months later showed Farthing shirtless and appearing intoxicated, stumbling before breaking into a run down a resort corridor. Deputies tased him. He kept going until a second officer brought him down with a tackle. Fightmaster was also arrested that night and charged with disorderly intoxication.
Farthing pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and resisting an officer earlier this month and was sentenced to time served.
What came after Florida
In November 2025, Farthing was charged with wanton endangerment and leaving the scene of a hit-and-run in Fayette County. That case is still active.
On February 11, Scott County deputies arrested him on a charge of intimidating a participant in a legal process. According to WKYT, a woman told police that Farthing picked her up for a prearranged meetup and pressured her to consume a “gummy” she could not identify. She called 911 from inside the residence, telling dispatchers that people in the home were armed and wanted to hurt her. Officers reported finding a firearm and marijuana at the scene. That case is pending, with a court date in April.
Saturday’s arrest adds to a record that started long before the Powerball. According to The Smoking Gun, Farthing has cycled through 25 different Kentucky correctional facilities across roughly three decades. His convictions reportedly span nine counties and include domestic violence by strangulation, selling cocaine to an undercover informant, bribing a corrections officer to smuggle prescription medication into a state facility, and carrying stolen firearms. He has been described in reporting as a persistent felony offender under Kentucky law.
At the time of his lottery win, Farthing told WSAZ, “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 because I’ve kept my faith and done right, and something’s happened good for me.”
Mother’s Day
Farthing’s next court date is April 27. Proceedings in the Scott County intimidation case and the Fayette County hit-and-run continue separately. His attorney offered no comment after Monday’s arraignment.
Linda Grizzle has not spoken publicly about her son’s latest arrest. The last time she addressed cameras was in April 2025, standing beside him at Kentucky Lottery headquarters, when she said the money was going to pay off her debt.
