Athens Gas Brawlers Speak To News12

Gas prices these days are driving everybody crazy.

But are the prices high enough to make you stab your own friend?

"[It] wasn't nothing to do with the price of gas. It was just a misunderstanding," says Roger Gifford.

"Yeah it had everything to do with the price of gas," counters David Lunsford.

"They need to lower the price of gas so they'd have less problems out of us."

42 year old Lunsford and 45 year old Gifford ended up behind bars because of an argument over fuel. Early Wednesday, the two men were driving on Congress Parkway in Athens when their gas tank went dry. Lunsford and Gifford took to walking, then began fighting-- over who would pay to refuel the car.

Police reports say Gifford used a pocket knife to stab Lunsford in the stomach. When police arrived, Lunsford was on the ground bleeding. It says both reeked of alcohol.

"It's kind of frustrating," says Lunsford. "You run out of gas and a gallon costs you almost 4 dollars. Hell, they need to do something. The rich man, it don't hurt him a bit. But the poor man he can't get by on that. He can't even hire a taxi with gas prices like that."

A gallon of gas in Athens costs you about $3.38. Gifford and Lunsford would have needed about 40 dollars if they had wanted to fill up their car. As it stands today, the men will have to pay at least 500 dollars a piece in court fees alone.

The two pleaded guilty to assault charges and public intoxication.

Lunsford's mother was there to pick her son up from jail.

"He's my son, sorry to say. He needs to get a rich job or ride a bicycle," she says.

Lunsford and Gifford: an extreme example of what can happen when you mix too much alcohol with the soaring prices at the pump.