Cain Velasquez has broken his silence the first time since being
charged with attempted murder, releasing a statement on social
media urging the “true victims” in the case to “come forward.”
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Velasquez is
facing attempted murder and multiple other charges after firing
shots at a man accused of molesting a younger relative of the
fighter’s on multiple occasions. Velasquez was
denied bail at an arraignment after it was determined too great
a risk to release the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Velasquez’s full statement is as follows:
“To everyone that has expressed your support, my family and I will
never be able to thank you enough. From the bottom of our hearts
and the depths of our souls, we are forever grateful for your love.
Your selfless gestures and kind words have given me strength in my
darkest times. This story is complex and slowly unraveling as we
speak. To the true victims of this case, may God give you the
strength to come forward. Though it is most difficult to relive the
pain that has happened to you, in speaking the truth, justice will
be served and your own healing will start. I will never stop
helping or loving my community and all of you. Thank you for loving
me.”
— Cain Velasquez (@cainmma)
April 12, 2022
The 39-year-old Velasquez is accused of attempted murder,
premeditated murder and a litany of other charges after firing a
.40 handgun “multiple times” into a truck carrying Harry Goularte,
Paul Bender and Patricia Goularte. Velasquez was targeting Harry
Goularte, who allegedly molested a close relative of the fighter’s
as many as “100 times.” Velasquez engaged in a high-speed chase
through “busy streets” of San Jose with the vehicle and fired
shots, ultimately wounding Bender, who is Harry Goularte’s
stepfather.
The 43-year-old Harry Goularte had been charged with one felony
count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14
on Feb. 25. A judge released him from custody without bail under
the condition that he remain on home detention in Morgan Hill, stay
away from children younger than 14 and wear an electronic ankle
monitor – despite the protests of the district attorney’s office.
Goularte was on his way to pick up the tracking device when
Velasquez attacked the vehicle.
If convicted, Velasquez faces more than 20 years in prison.
Velasquez last fought for the Las Vegas-based promotion in February
2019, when he suffered a first-round KO loss to current divisional
kingpin Francis
Ngannou at UFC on ESPN 1. The Salinas, Calif., native compiled
a 14-3 mark during his MMA career, earning wins over the likes of
Junior dos
Santos (twice), Brock
Lesnar, Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira, Ben
Rothwell, Cheick Kongo
and Travis
Browne. He was part of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)from
2019 to 2020 and has also competed for Mexican wrestling
organization Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.