Background: Justin Golden (right) with his defense attorney during his court appearance on Sept. 3 (WTLV-WJXX). Inset: Pablo Golden (GoFundMe).
A Florida man who was accused of running over his 8-month-old son after putting the baby in an intersection has pleaded guilty.
Justin Golden, 20, appeared in court on Wednesday months after he was arrested for aggravated manslaughter of a child and vehicular homicide in January. According to an arrest report reviewed by Law&Crime, Golden was driving his GMC truck with his 8-month-old son Pablo Golden and the baby”s mother on the morning of Jan. 25. They started arguing over “baby wipes and money” following a trip to Walmart when the woman said she wanted to get out of the vehicle to put an end to the fight.
Golden countered her by saying that he “did not want to be responsible for the child.”
While stopped at an intersection, the woman exited the GMC while Golden took Pablo out of the truck and sat the infant in the road before he drove off, running the little boy over.
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As Law&Crime previously reported, police caught up to Golden not long after he drove away from the scene, which yielded several witnesses to the horrific incident. One witness who was driving behind Golden’s GMC saw the woman leave the vehicle “with nothing in her arms.” The witness then saw the truck’s driver, later identified as Golden, remove something from the vehicle and place it on the ground.
According to the report, the witness told police that she thought the object was a “bag of trash” — but then she realized it was a child when “she saw it move” after Golden drove over it. The witness stated that while Golden continued to drive, he “did not speed away.”
Pablo’s mother told police that after she left Golden’s vehicle, she “heard screaming” and turned around to find her baby in the middle of the road.
Pablo was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Local CW affiliate WJXT reported in February that both families were grieving after the incident. Pablo’s maternal grandmother, who was identified as Evelyn, told WJXT that the little boy “loved smiling, loved playing with his brother, he loved his mom, he loved his dad,” adding, “His mom loves him, his dad loves him, this is just a tragic event.”
Pablo’s paternal grandmother, identified as Marie, noted to WJXT that both families are grieving Pablo together, saying, “We didn’t just start to be friends, this goes way back.”
During a court appearance on Wednesday, Golden pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child. As part of the plea arrangement, the charge of vehicular homicide was dismissed. Golden is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13.
David Harris contributed to this report.Â
