Suspect accused of attempted murder, killing victim’s dog
Law enforcement authorities across the area were continuing their search early this week for Thomas Harley Golden, 39, who was considered armed and dangerous following an alleged attack in Fannin County Monday morning, July 28.
Golden, who is listed as homeless, is charged in Fannin County warrants with Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm/Knife During Commission of a Crime, and Aggravated Cruelty to Animals. All are felonies.
A Polk County warrant charges Golden with Felony Evading Arrest, according to Captain Kevin Cole of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. That charge resulted from a chase by Polk County deputies July 29 when Golden crashed his motorcycle in North Carolina and escaped into the woods.
The Fannin County warrants accuse Golden of cutting his victim’s neck with a knife, then stabbing a dog to death “while protecting its owner from being murdered.” Warrants say the incidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Golden had fled the scene of the alleged attack when deputies arrived.
Thursday night, July 31, Golden was spotted by a Cherokee County, North Carolina, deputy sheriff in the area of the steel bridge over the Toccoa River in McCaysville. Law enforcement officers converged on the area but were unable to locate the suspect.
Golden had been paroled May 5 from the Riverbend Correctional Facility, a medium security prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. He was serving a 10 year sentence out of Fannin County for Burglary in the First Degree, two counts of Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, and four counts of Theft by Taking, according to court records. That sentence was handed down in October 2018 as the result of a plea bargain. He began serving the sentence October 31, 2018.
Golden had been indicted by a Fannin County Grand Jury in May 2018 on those charges plus charges of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and a Recidivist count. The recidivist count came as a result of cases in North Carolina where he was sentenced for Breaking and Entering, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and Larceny After Breaking and Entering.
Anyone seeing Golden should call 911 immediately.