A man helped beat a 16-year-old boy to death for a vampire cult in 2011.
Florida let him out of prison three years early in June 2024.
Fourteen months later, the people of Panama City found out exactly what Florida's early release math actually costs.
The Vampire Cult Killer Florida Couldn't Keep Behind Bars
James Gay, 35, was convicted of aggravated battery in connection with the July 2011 murder of Jacob Hendershot, a 16-year-old boy lured to a house in Parker, Florida, by a group that called itself a vampire cult.
Gay's role in that killing was not subtle.
He wound a metal chain around his fist and drove it into the teenager's skull, fracturing the bone below his right eye.
The group – which included a woman named Stephanie Pistey, who claimed to be part vampire and part werewolf – then dumped the boy's body in a concrete enclosure.
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Gay was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012.
He was released in June 2024 after serving 12.
Back Out and Armed in Fourteen Months
On August 4, Gay showed up at the Publix on Highway 231 at Lindsey Crossing in Panama City and approached Everette Krichbaum, 52, who was sitting in his car.
The two men had a history over a woman – Krichbaum was dating Gay's ex-girlfriend.
Gay picked a verbal fight, walked back to his vehicle, came back with a machete, and hit Krichbaum in the face with it.
Krichbaum – who told police he grabbed a hatchet because of his age and his inability to physically defend himself – swung back.
When officers arrived, Gay had a bone-deep cut on his pinky finger and a puncture wound in his lower abdomen.
Krichbaum had lacerations across his hands and face and told investigators he lost consciousness from a blow to the head.
Think about that the next time someone tells you early release is a compassionate policy.
Both men were transported by ambulance and charged with aggravated battery.
Gay was arrested the same day.
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Krichbaum was arrested the next morning after being released from the hospital – by the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
As of August 7, both men were sitting in the Bay County Jail.
Gay is representing himself.
This Is What Early Release Looks Like
Florida law requires inmates to serve 85% of their sentence before release.
Gay served 80%.
That gap is what put him back in that Publix parking lot.
The Florida Department of Corrections tracks what happens next.
Their own numbers show that about 25% of released state prisoners are back in prison within three years.
Within five years, that number climbs to 35%.
Those are just the ones who return to state prison – not county jail, not probation violations, not new crimes that end in plea deals or dismissals.
The actual reoffense rate is higher.
Florida abolished parole years ago.
That means most release decisions are not discretionary – they are mechanical, driven by gain-time calculations rather than any judgment about whether a specific man who shattered a teenager's skull is ready to walk free.
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The system let James Gay out.
The system did not ask whether Panama City was ready for that.
A year later, a 52-year-old man was knocked unconscious in a grocery store parking lot by the same person who killed a 16-year-old boy with his bare hands.
That is not a coincidence.
That is a policy outcome.
Sources:
- Natasha Holt, "Florida men wielding hatchet and machete clash in Publix parking lot, police say," Fox News, August 10, 2026.
- Staff, "Man linked to 2011 'Vampire Cult' murder faces new charges in Publix machete fight," WMBB/mypanhandle.com, August 6, 2026.
- Staff, "Prison Releasee Reoffender Sentencing in Florida," Florida Sixth Judicial Circuit, updated November 2024.
