DeKalb DoorDash driver denied bail from December home invasion incident with taser gun

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb man has been denied bail and will remain in the DeKalb County jail following a December home invasion during which police allege he invaded a Sycamore home and attempted to use a taser gun on a woman inside.

DeKalb County Judge Philip Montgomery ruled to deny bail for Barron S. Golden, 24, of the 1100 block of Varsity Boulevard in DeKalb, during a Friday court hearing via Zoom. During his ruling, Montgomery said charges against Golden include those that would be non-probation-able if Golden was convicted. The judge also said investigators uncovered weapons in Golden’s possession and Golden had already implicated himself and admitted to being in the residence during the Dec. 12 incident.

“Based on the foregoing, the court finds that no conditions or combination of conditions can reasonably assure the physical safety of the public,” Montgomery said. “Therefore, the state’s motion to have the defendant held without bond is granted.”

Golden was charged with armed violence, a Class X felony; home invasion, a Class X felony; residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; theft, a Class 2 felony; aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony; unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony; and two charges of unlawful use of weapons, one Class 4 felony and one Class A misdemeanor. If convicted of the armed violence or home invasion charges, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

The update comes after Montgomery kept the $100,000 bond, with 10% to post, that was issued to Golden as part of Golden’s arrest warrant that was approved by DeKalb County Chief Judge Robbin Stuckert earlier this week.

Sycamore police responded to a call at 4:23 a.m. on Dec. 12 for a report of home invasion in 400 block of West High Street in which a woman resident reported she woke up to find a man standing over her while she slept in bed, according to a Tuesday news release from the department. The woman told police the intruder tried to use a stun gun on her and grab her leg but she was able to fight off the intruder, who fled the residence.

Police wrote in the release the victim also provided information to officers about a suspicious incident that occurred two weeks before the break-in involving the food delivery person acting inappropriately.

In a Tuesday petition urging the court to deny bail for Golden and keep him in jail, DeKalb County Assistant State’s Attorney Alesandra Friend wrote the woman in the Dec. 12 home invasion incident previously ordered Taco Bell through DoorDash at about 10 p.m. Nov. 28. Golden was allegedly the driver that delivered the food, according to court records.

“Upon delivering the food, the defendant asked the victim for her phone number and the victim provided a fake number,” Friend wrote.

At about 12:40 a.m. Nov. 29, Golden allegedly came back to the woman’s residence again, Friend wrote. The petition reads the victim’s sister answered the door and told him the woman wasn’t available and to leave.

“The victim watched out her window and observed the defendant ... stand outside her door for approximately 15 minutes, go to his car and then sit in his car for another 15 minutes before leaving,” Friend wrote. “The next day, the victim reported the incident to DoorDash.”

Police used court subpoenas, search warrants and home security videos to investigate the incident, according to the Sycamore police department news release.

Friend wrote in the petition to the court a search warrant revealed the defendant possessed in his vehicle two stun guns, as well as a firearm without a valid firearms owner identification card. Another search warrant for Golden’s cell phone records revealed he was near his residence in DeKalb a few hours before the Dec. 12 incident. The phone records also placed him in Sycamore less than an hour before the incident and placed him back in DeKalb about an hour after the incident.

“Furthermore, it was determined that the defendant called the fake number that the victim gave him twice,” Friend wrote.

Upon interviewing the defendant after his arrest, the defendant allegedly admitted to investigators that he was the one inside the victim’s residence during the Dec. 12 incident and apologized for what he did, according to the court petition.

“The defendant even wrote an apology letter to the victim saying he was sorry for how this incident might make her feel,” Friend wrote in the petition.

DeKalb County Public Defender Chip Criswell, who is representing Golden, said in court that letter was something he urged the judge to consider not granting the petition, along with Golden’s lack of violent criminal history.

“So obviously, Your Honor, there is no threat to the victim that he wants to harm them and prevent them from testifying,” Criswell said.

During the investigation, it was revealed Golden allegedly had similar encounters when delivering food through DoorDash to several other women. Other food delivery customers provided statements about a delivery person making inappropriate comments to them, Friend wrote.

“The defendant would inappropriately look the females up and down, ask for their numbers, try to talk to the females, despite on one occasion the order was for contactless delivery,” Friend wrote. “The defendant would then be seen standing outside the door for several minutes after the food was delivered and then sit in the car for several minutes thereafter. [In] one of the occasions involving a different female, the defendant returned back to the residence at approximately 4 a.m. and rang the doorbell.”

Montgomery said he respectfully disagreed with Criswell that Golden doesn’t pose a safety threat to the victim in this case.

“Obviously, the defendant poses, at least in this court’s opinion, a threat to the alleged victim that was charged in this, as well as – based on the [petition] made by Miss Friend in her motion – the other women he exhibited some similar behavior toward,” Montgomery said.

Golden is due back in court at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 24.