A second request for bail for Cain
Velasquez was denied during a hearing at the Santa Clara County
Hall of Justice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday.
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Judge Shelyna Brown, the same judge who
denied bail to the former UFC champion during an arraignment on
March 7, determined that Velasquez will remain behind bars.
Velasquez is
facing attempted murder and other charges after allegedly
shooting at Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting a relative
of the Velasquez’s on multiple occasions. Goularte’s stepfather,
Paul Bender, was shot in the shoulder during the incident, which
occurred on Feb. 28.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report the latest details in the
Velasquez case.
“The reason this court says that is because this was such a
reckless disregard for human life,” Brown said. “In this case, it
is not just Mr. Goularte and his family. It is every single citizen
who was in danger of being shot or rammed with a vehicle at the
time of this seven-mile chase.
“This court is not thinking only of Mr. Goularte and his family.
This court is considering every single citizen in Santa Clara
County who was in proximity to this alleged incident. For these
reasons, there are no least-restrictive means that will satisfy
this court about the risk to the community. The court will not
grant bail at this time. It will not change its prior ruling.”
Attorney Mark Geragos had been optimistic leading into the hearing
that Velasquez would be granted bail on Monday. That optimism
shifted to disappointment and disbelief following Brown’s
ruling.
“It’s especially outrageous when you realize that the accused
pedophile and his stepfather, who did nothing but protect [the
alleged molester] at the day care center, are parading around like
victims,” Geragos told ESPN
.
During the hearing, the defense argued that traumatic brain
injuries and CTE may have contributed to Velasquez acting
impulsively. Some of the terms of a bail agreement proposed by the
defense included $1 million posted bail, electronic monitoring,
relocation to an out-of-state inpatient facility and constant
supervision.
Bender, who was shot in the attack, appeared at the hearing to make
a statement via video call.
“Cain Velasquez has no respect for human life,” Bender said. “He
could’ve easily shot the family in the car next to us, innocent
pedestrians, or even young children. Cain Velasquez does not care
who sees him do this. He does not care about the rule of law and
has no respect for our judicial system. If given the opportunity, I
believe he will try to finish what he started. I am fearful for my
life, as well as for the lives of my family. No amount of bail or
GPS monitor will stop Cain Velasquez.”
Velasquez is scheduled to return to court for a plea hearing on
June 10, where it will be determined if the case will go to trial
or an agreement will be reached. If Velasquez is found guilty of
attempted murder, he would face a minimum of 20 years in
prison.
The 39-year-old Velasquez is facing 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.
Numerous notables from the MMA community, including Dana White,
Daniel
Cormier, Kamaru
Usman, Kahbib Nurmagomedov and Scott Coker have
submitted letters of support to the court on Velasquez’s
behalf. Velasquez himself
released a statement via social media in April, thanking those
who supported him and urging the “true victims” in the case to
“come forward.”
“I’ve reviewed all of the letters of community support for Mr.
Velasquez and the letters in support of Mr. Goularte,” Brown said
on Monday. “The court always appreciates community interest in a
case, but the court is not ruled by community opinion at all. The
court is ruled only the law. The law, in this case, is clear.”
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.