New Jersey man accused of threatening Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood pleads no contest

A New Jersey man who was accused of threatening Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and whom the sheriff greeted at the airport in Sanford when he was extradited pleaded no contest Monday to a charge of written threat to kill or injure.

Richard Golden, 38, of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, was the first of a handful of men across the country and as far away as Alaska who have been arrested after they were accused of threatening Chitwood.

Golden entered an open plea Monday to the second-degree felony, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The open plea means there was no agreement with prosecutors on punishment.

But the two sides did agree Monday that Golden will have to pay the extradition cost of $2,112.

When Golden arrived in handcuffs at Orlando Sanford International Airport on March 27, the sheriff and a group of reporters and media cameras were waiting for him.

Chitwood introduced himself.

"I am Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. I hope you enjoy your stay. Welcome to Florida," Chitwood said as Golden was escorted past him. Golden did not reply.

Golden had cut his hair and shorn his beard since his brief introduction to Chitwood in Sanford. Golden appeared next to his attorney Monday and answered routine questions as part of entering the plea. He said he was entering the plea voluntarily and had not been promised anything.

Circuit Judge Karen Foxman set sentencing for Dec. 1.

Golden faces up to 15 years in prison, his defense attorney, Matthew Thompson, previously said he does not have a criminal record. That means he is unlikely to get the maximum sentence.

Golden and Thompson declined comment after the hearing.

Who are the men threatening Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and where are they now?

Had Golden not entered a plea on Monday he would have gone on trial this week.

Another man enters plea to threats against Chitwood

Golden was the second man accused of threatening Chitwood to enter a plea. The first was Cristian Zapata, of Ansonia, Connecticut, who entered a no contest plea Sept. 27 to the same charge as Golden. The plea form does not list any agreement between prosecutors and defense.

Zapata, 24, was the third man arrested and accused of making threats against the sheriff but, unlike the first two, Chitwood did not greet him at the airport.

Circuit Judge Randell Rowe III has not set a sentencing date for Zapata. The judge did deny a request by a prosecutor to take him into custody at the plea hearing.

Zapata was accused of writing "I WILL KILL CHITWOOD, MARK MY WORDS" on 4chan on April 7, according to law enforcement.

Zapata was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on May 4 and released on $100,000 bail on June 1.

Threats against Chitwood

The threats started after Chitwood blasted groups who had spread antisemitic propaganda in Volusia County and displayed antisemitic signs on a pedestrian overpass leading to Daytona International Speedway in February on the weekend of the Daytona 500.

According to court records, Golden posted on a 4chan chatroom called Politically Incorrect: "Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the problem. But shooting Chitwood in the head solves an immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him. In Minecraft."

'Political puffery'?

Golden’s defense attorney, Thompson, unsuccessfully argued for dismisal of the charge at a previous hearing, likening it to “political puffery” and “public complaining.”

“You can find that language and that hatred unfortunately everywhere on the internet,” Thompson said. “I just think that this is somebody who's expressing frustration and not really issuing a threat that’s meant to be taken seriously."

Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger argued that the motion to dismiss should be denied because it was up to a jury to decide whether Golden’s post was a threat or not.

“The defendant with specificity states where the sheriff should be shot, the timeline in which it should happen, and then again repeats where the sheriff should be shot,” Terwilleger wrote.

Terwilleger’s motion included copies of the racist and antisemitic posts in the chatroom.

Judge Foxman agreed with the prosecutor, saying it was a question for the jury.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Man accused of threatening Volusia Sheriff Chitwood pleads no contest