A POWERBALL winner who scored a multi-million dollar prize has spent over three decades in and out of jail.

James Shannon Farthing, 50, won Kentucky’s largest lottery jackpot, walking away with a prize of $167.3 million, just before he was arrested in Florida.

James Shannon Farthing (center) won Kentucky’s largest jackpotCredit: WKYT

3The lottery winner has been arrested dozens of times in the past 30 yearsCredit: Kentucky Library

Farthing (left) and his mother live in Kentucky togetherCredit: WKYT

Farthing has spent 30 years living behind bars at 25 different correctional facilities, The Smoking Gun reported.

The convicted criminal won the jackpot after purchasing a $2 lottery ticket at a convenience store near his home, which he shares with his 77-year-old mother, Linda Grizzle.

Days after the big win, Farthing decided to travel to Florida with his girlfriend; however, he failed to check if the trip was okay with his parole officer.

Only one day into the vacation, Farthing allegedly got into an altercation with another guest at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach.

During the altercation, the guest accused Farthing of punching them in the face.

When a cop tried to break the fight up, the lottery winner allegedly kicked the officer in the face.

Deputy Nicholas Areostatico wrote that Farthing “attempted to flee on foot out of the hotel.”

Areostatico, whom Farthing allegedly kicked, described facial pain and swelling under his eye.

Following the encounter, Farthing was booked for battery on a law enforcement officer, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of resisting police and battery.

A fugitive warrant was also issued for the individual, as he had violated his parole without obtaining travel permission.

Farthing was released on a $11,000 bond from the Florida case after he pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for an arraignment on July 14.

LENGTHY RAP SHEET

Farthing has a 16-page rap sheet that includes a number of drug and assault convictions.

The Kentucky man has been convicted of strangling a previous girlfriend, selling cocaine to an undercover police informant, escaping from a prison work detail, and bribing a corrections officer to deliver Xanax and Oxycodone into a state facility.

Farthing was also convicted of possessing stolen firearms and working with his mother in a marijuana smuggling plot.

In return for his guilty plea, the charges were dropped against his mother

While in prison, he continued to break the law as he racked up a record of assaults, narcotics possession, loansharking, gambling, drug smuggling, and positive tests for alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and depressants.

Farthing was also written up for having an inappropriate relationship with a female canteen staffer and for charging inmates for returning stolen items.

During his time in prison, Farthing bribed an officer to smuggle in packages containing tobacco, pot, pain𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ers, and more than 300 Xanax pills

His criminal history began during his teen years when he was convicted of theft, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and receiving stolen property.

The lottery winner only completed 10 years of school and got his GED in state prison.