A Duval County judge on Friday sentenced 21-year-old Justin Golden to 30 years in state prison for killing his 8-month-old son, Pablo Kye Golden, whom he placed in a Westside intersection and then ran over with his vehicle on Jan. 25, authorities said.
Friday’s sentence closes an 11-month case that began at Lenox and McDuff avenues and drew wide attention throughout Jacksonville. Golden pleaded guilty in September to aggravated manslaughter of a child, avoiding a trial after prosecutors said video and witness accounts showed he knowingly put the infant in danger. The defense called the death a tragic mistake. Judge London Kite imposed the maximum term under the plea, exceeding the 25 years the state sought, and ordered Golden into Department of Corrections custody immediately. The ruling caps a series of contested hearings in which both sides presented statements from relatives and argued over intent, responsibility and the weight of the evidence.
Investigators said the confrontation started late in the morning during a drive that included a planned stop at a Walmart. At a red light at McDuff Avenue South and Lenox Avenue, Golden and the child’s mother argued. Witnesses told police the dispute shifted from the car to the roadway. According to arrest records described in court, Golden opened the driver’s door, removed Pablo from the vehicle and set him on the pavement near the lane line. He returned to the seat, closed the door and pulled forward. The left rear tire rolled over the infant. Bystanders called 911 as the child’s mother screamed for help. Paramedics took Pablo to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officers located Golden a short time later on the Westside and arrested him without incident after interviewing witnesses and collecting video from nearby cameras.
Golden initially faced aggravated manslaughter of a child and a separate vehicular homicide count, a combination that could have carried up to 60 years. Under the plea agreement, the vehicular homicide charge was dropped and Golden admitted to aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree felony. During Friday’s hearing, Assistant State Attorney John Kalinowski argued the father’s actions were virtually indistinguishable from an intentional killing. “I have seen people exercise more care, caution and concern for a squirrel that darts into the roadway,” he said, contrasting common driving behavior with what the video shows before Pablo was struck. Defense attorney Kenneth Williams urged leniency, proposing a year in the county jail, probation and a license suspension. He said Golden accepted responsibility and did not intend harm.
Kite said the conduct went beyond poor judgment and into what she called “gross and flagrant” behavior. The judge listened to character statements from Golden’s father and grandfather and acknowledged accounts of a young man who had support in the community. But she emphasized the sequence captured in the case file: a baby removed from a place of safety, set in a travel lane and then run over by his father’s moving truck. In his own remarks, Golden apologized to Pablo’s mother and relatives and said he deserved punishment. “I cannot completely tell the court how sorrowful I am for the stupid and criminal conduct that caused me to kill my son Pablo,” he said, adding that he failed as a protector and accepted the court’s judgment.
The crash took place on Jacksonville’s Westside, a commercial stretch lined with small businesses and traffic turning onto Lenox from McDuff. Residents in the nearby Water Edge area told police they saw a truck stopped in the lane with a door ajar and items in the road just before the baby was struck. Detectives documented skid paths and vehicle travel lines, collected surveillance showing portions of the encounter and interviewed multiple drivers who pulled over after the impact. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt-force injuries consistent with being run over by a vehicle. Police found no mechanical defects with Golden’s truck that would have changed its path at the intersection.
The case unfolded through the first half of the year as relatives organized a vigil to remember Pablo, described by family as a cheerful infant who had not reached his first birthday. Court records show the defense sought delays to call additional witnesses and submit mitigation letters, including a written plea from Golden asking to avoid prison. Prosecutors said they would seek 25 years, citing the child’s age and the circumstances at the intersection. In September, Golden entered his guilty plea in Duval County Circuit Court, acknowledging the aggravated manslaughter charge and waiving a trial. The court set a November sentencing date, then continued the hearing to Dec. 12 and again to Friday when witnesses were available.
With the 30-year sentence now entered, standard post-sentencing steps follow. The clerk will file a written judgment and sentence that lists credit for time served in the Duval County jail. The Department of Corrections will assign Golden to a reception center for evaluation before transferring him to a long-term facility. Any appeal would address the legality of the sentence rather than the conviction because the case resolved by plea. Prosecutors said they intend to file a restitution motion covering funeral costs and related expenses; a hearing date has not been set. The State Attorney’s Office said it would release a brief case summary once the paperwork is complete.
Outside the courtroom, relatives from both families declined extended comment. One woman leaving the building said the outcome brought relief to have a resolution before year’s end. Williams said his client would focus on self-improvement while incarcerated. Kalinowski, speaking after the hearing, called the case devastating and said the term reflects the evidence and the child’s age. Court security escorted attendees out in small groups as reporters waited in the hallway. In the gallery, quiet sobs marked the end of a proceeding that had split the room since the first hearings this fall.
As of Sunday, Dec. 21, the written judgment and sentence are expected to be docketed in the coming days. No additional hearings are scheduled. Prosecutors indicated their restitution filing will be the next milestone once the clerk finalizes the paperwork.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.