Cain
Velasquez moved closer to a trial date as he appeared in Santa
Clara County, Calif., court on Wednesday.
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The former UFC heavyweight champion identified his counsel during a
hearing before Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya. Velasquez will be
represented by California attorney Renee Hessling, who previously
worked alongside Mark Geragos during pre-trial proceedings.
Velasquez’s next hearing will be on March 8, when a trial date is
expected to be set.
Velasquez is facing attempted murder and other charges after
allegedy chasing and shooting at Harry Goularte, who has been
accused of molesting Velasquez’s young son. During a high-speed
chase, Velasquez fired at the vehicle containing Goularte and
allegedly hit and injured his stepfather, Paul Bender.
Velasquez was released on
released on $1 million bail in November after spending eight
months in a holding facility. He remains under GPS surveillance and
cannot leave his home without the court’s permission. Goularte, who
is also out on bail, faces a felony charge of lewd acts with a
child and will appear in court on Jan. 17 for a pre-trial hearing.
Both Velasquez and Goularte have pleaded not guilty to their
respective charges.
Since being granted bail, Velasquez has
traveled to Arizona to compete in a professional wrestling
match and to Fort Bragg, N.C., for a charity event also
attended by Ryan Bader
and Dan
Henderson. During the most recent hearing, there was reportedly
a tracking application error regarding the latter trip, which
Hessling called an “honest mistake.” Velasquez was not penalized
for the issue.