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, aged 20, made a court appearance on Wednesday, months after his arrest for charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and vehicular homicide stemming from a January incident. According to an arrest report cited by Law&Crime, Golden was operating his GMC truck with his infant son, Pablo, and the child’s mother on January 25 when an argument erupted over “baby wipes and money” after leaving Walmart. The child’s mother expressed a desire to exit the truck to end the disagreement.
Golden countered her by saying that he “did not want to be responsible for the child.”
The argument escalated when, while stopped at an intersection, the mother left the vehicle, and Golden then took Pablo out and placed him on the ground. Upon driving off, he tragically ran over the young child.
Law&Crime previously reported that police quickly located Golden after he left the scene, with multiple witnesses observing the distressing event. One individual following Golden’s vehicle saw the mother exit “with nothing in her arms.” The same witness observed Golden take what she initially assumed was a “bag of trash” from the truck and set it on the roadway.
Upon realizing the object was a child, as it moved when Golden drove over it, the witness informed the police that Golden continued driving but did not speed away from the area.
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.
As reported by the local CW affiliate WJXT in February, both families have been mourning the loss after the terrible event. Pablo’s maternal grandmother, named Evelyn, told WJXT about their sorrow, stating, “He loved smiling, loved to play with his brother, adored his mom and dad,” expressing that Pablo was deeply loved by his parents and describing the occurrence as tragic.
The child’s paternal grandmother, Marie, shared with WJXT that the families are jointly grieving their loss, emphasizing their long-standing connection by saying, “This isn’t new; our friendship 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.
