Harley Thomas Golden is currently serving 60 days in the Polk County Jail and will be extradited once he has completed his sentence, Polk County Sheriff Steve Ross said in an email Friday.
Golden, 39, was taken into custody in Polk County Monday, August 11, by members of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and U.S. Marshals.
He had been the target of an extensive manhunt after allegedly cutting a woman’s neck with a knife and then stabbing her dog to death in Fannin County July 28. He had fled the scene of the attack before deputies arrived.
He was charged in Polk County with Driving an Unregistered Vehicle, Felony Evading Arrest and Fugitive from Justice after he fled from deputies, crashed his motorcycle, and escaped into a wooded area July 30.
A Fannin County grand jury returned a seven count indictment, plus a recidivist count, August 21. The indictment charges him with Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, Possession of a Knife During Commission of a Felony, Unlawful Conduct During 9-1-1 Call, Influencing A Witness, and Terroristic Threats. All seven counts are related to the attack on the victim and her dog.
The recidivist count seeks to have harsher sentencing penalties imposed due to Golden’s prior criminal history. That history includes convictions for Burglary in the First Degree, two counts of Theft by Receiving Stolen Property and four counts of Theft by Taking in Fannin County in 2018. He had just been released from prison on those charges.
He was convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon in Macon County, North Carolina, in addition to other North Carolina convictions for Larceny and Breaking and Entering, and Felony Possession of Stolen Property.