Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez sentenced to 5 years prison in 2022 "vigilante" shooting
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for what prosecutors had called a "vigilante shooting spree" while chasing a vehicle across the South Bay carrying a man suspected of molesting Velasquez's relative.
Velasquez pleaded no contest last year to charges of attempted murder, felony assault, and gun charges for the Feb. 28, 2022 chase through streets of Morgan Hill and San Jose and the shooting at a truck carrying three people, including Harry Goularte, who was charged with felony child molestation.
The shooting instead injured Goularte's stepfather, while Goularte's mother escaped injury. Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez's relative at a home daycare run by his mother, denies the charge and the case against him is pending.
Velasquez, who had been free on $1 million bail, was remanded into custody at the end of Monday's hearing, Bay Area News Group reported. With credit for time already served, he will serve approximately one more year in state prison, his attorney Renee Hessling told CBS News Bay Area.
"Today's results are bittersweet -- we had hoped Mr. Velasquez would remain out of jail," Hessing said in a prepared statement. "However, the facts remain clear: Cain Velasquez is a good man, a devoted father, and a respected member of the community. What he and his family have endured has been nothing short of a living nightmare-one they did not deserve. Throughout it all, Cain has shown courage and strength of character. He has taken responsibility for his actions and has been held accountable."
In a podcast earlier this month, Velasquez said he accepted responsibility for his actions.
"From what I can say as far as myself, the way that I handled things was not the way to do it," he said on his former teammate Kyle Kingsbury's podcast. "We cannot put the law in our own hands. ... I know what I did, and I know what I did was very dangerous to other people, you know? Not just people involved, but innocent people. I understand what I did and I'm willing to do everything I have to [do] to pay that back."
Premeditated murder charges were dropped against Velasquez as part of his plea deal.
"This defendant decided to become judge, jury, and executioner. His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed as he shot at his intended victim," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rose in a statement last year, noting that Velasquez struck their vehicle and fired shots as a nearby school was letting out for the day.
Velasquez had previously pled not guilty to the charges and the case had been scheduled to go to trial in September before he entered his no-contest plea in August 2024.
