While the Cain
Velasquez murder trial may have reached its conclusion, there
are still other matters to resolve regarding the case.
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On Wednesday, judge Elizabeth C. Peterson granted a continuance of
a restitution setting hearing, which will now take place on June 3.
Velasquez was
sentence to five years in prison in March after pleading no
contest to attempted murder, felony assault and additional gun
charges stemming from a February 2022 incident in which the former
fighter fired a gun at a truck containing multiple people. During a
high-speed chase, Velasquez shot at the vehicle containing Harry
Goularte, who was accused of molesting Velasquez’s son. One of the
shots hit and injured Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender.
Though Velasquez is currently in the midst of his sentence — which
includes 1,283 days of credit for time served — the ex-UFC
heavyweight champion will still be required to pay restitution,
which is when “a convicted offender may be ordered to reimburse
victims for financial losses incurred due to the offender’s crime,”
according to justice.gov.
According to multiple reports, there seems to be a difference of
opinion on how much Velasquez will owe to the victims. The
fighter’s attorney, Renee Hessling, was present at Wednesday’s
hearing and stated that the current restitution requests are
“unreasonable.” Velasquez did not attend the hearing.
“The victims in this case are seeking an exorbitant amount of
money,” Hessling said in court (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “The defense’s position is that
it’s unreasonable, so we do intend on litigating this. … I think
there is definitely restitution owed by Mr. Velasquez here.
However, there are some claims that he owes money for their
daycare, and they are asking for $1 million on that end. That is
certainly something we are litigating.”
District Attorney Aaron French said that the victims are hopeful
for a relatively quick resolution to this portion of the case.
Goularte and his family are expected to have their own attorney at
the next hearing.
“The victims are eager to move past this chapter in their life, so
hopefully the defense will have the documents they’re seeking by
the next court date, and we can set it for a hearing following
that,” French said.
Goularte has pleaded not guilty to one charge of lewd acts with a
minor. His trial is currently set for June 2. Velasquez is serving
his sentence at Wasco State Prison in California and could be
eligible for parole as soon as March 2026.