The case of former UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez has hit a new chapter as he was recently released on $1 million bail. Velasquez’s exit from the holding facility in Santa Clara County, California, was joyous after spending the last eight months in jail pending trial on attempted murder charges. His release has opened questions about when rough justice is acceptable and how law enforcement should treat an offender that is also a combat sports athlete.
Velasquez was released early Wednesday morning after Judge Arthur Bocanegra decided to let the retired UFC veteran return home. Previously, Velasquez had been denied bail numerous times since his arrest in February.
“Just feel blessed,” Velasquez said in his first statement to KRON-4. “Ready to go home, be with the loved ones, family, friends and make something positive of this whole situation.
“Just thank you to everybody who had my support. I love all of you. Just always continue to be better as a person, always do good things and just make something positive of this terrible situation. My family and I, we’re going to do that.”
In late February, Velasquez had a car chase pursuing Harry Goularte, the man accused of sexually molesting his 4-year-old son at a day care facility, on an 11-mile car chase. It is alleged that Velasquez fired several rounds from a .40 caliber handgun into the vehicle with Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, sustaining a bullet wound, causing a non-life threatening injury.
Velasquez faces ten counts, including premeditated attempted murder, which comes with a potential life sentence in prison if convicted.
When the news broke, members of the MMA community immediately spoke out about what they felt was an injustice. How should you respond when someone abuses your child, especially when you are trained to hurt people for a living? Unfortunately for Velasquez, he chose to use a firearm on an open highway, where shooting through the window of a moving vehicle could have hit anyone.
That is what the core of the charge should reflect, reckless endangerment. If Velasquez intended to murder Goularte while shooting him on the highway while both are operating a moving vehicle is a surefire way to accomplish that and potentially more; it signals more of the first-thought course of action than a plotted murder attempt.
Still, if Velasquez had caught Goularte on the street and fought him, it is within reason to believe that he could have killed him as a training combat sports professional. No jury won’t see a former UFC heavyweight champion that way. Add into the mix that he has a massive tattoo across his chest that says, “BROWN PRIDE,” which, for many, can signal pre-disposed biases based on culture.
There is one concession: Velasquez is now free.
Velasquez is on home detention with a GPS monitor as a condition of his release. He also is not allowed to have any weapons in his house. Additionally, he was ordered to undergo outpatient treatment for traumatic brain injury and CTE at a nearby facility. Velasquez also must attend counseling for parents of child victims of sexual abuse.
Goularte was released on bail against the prosecution’s recommendation before Velasquez and pleaded not guilty in his pending case. The issues are multi-fold in the case of Cain Velasquez and Harry Goularte. But Velasquez being home is yet another chapter for a matter that tugs at the heartstrings while complicating the route he took for “justice.”
