The former UFC champion, Cain Velásquez, was sentenced to five years in prison for the attempt to murder a man accused of disturbing his relative during an emotionally tense audience on Monday.
Velásquez, 42, declared himself guilty of murder attempt, assault charges for serious crime and other positions of related weapons, according to the office of the Santa Clara district prosecutor. The case arose from a high speed persecution 2022 in northern California, where Velásquez fired a gun in a truck.
The prosecutors say that Velásquez began shooting at an intersection and then followed the truck for 11 miles through San José.
At that time there were three people in the truck, but Velásquez was pointing to Harry Goularte, 46, accused of disturbing Velásquez’s relative. It was Gourte’s stepfather who was shot in the incident, said the district prosecutor’s office.
Goularte is waiting for the judgment on the charges of abuse of children serious crimes and has denied the accusation.
The district prosecutor recommended that Velásquez be sentenced to 30 years in prison, accusing him of trying to kill the three people inside the truck.
The NBC Bay area reported that Judge Arthur Bocanegra described the case of Velásquez as the unique and that it could not be considered in a vacuum.
Velásquez’s judgment includes credit for the time already served, so the former fighter will probably spend approximately one year in prison, the point of sale reported.
The three people who were in the truck at the time of the shooting spoke in the sentence, according to the NBC bay area. Velásquez’s wife and daughter also spoke.
A reporter from the local television station, Kron, described Bocanegra as having tears in his eyes as he felt Velásquez, saying that “keeping a son of his father was the worst punishment,” said the journalist in a position in X.
The defending lawyer Renee HESSling told journalists that, despite the disappointment that Velásquez is in custody, “today justice was delivered.”
“I think the court made a good decision today,” HESSling said. “One that takes into consideration all the complexities of this case, the context on why this happened, and also takes into account who we all know that Mr. Velásquez is, which is fundamentally a good man and a good father.”
The Santa Clara district prosecutor described Velásquez’s attack as a “vigilant shooting.” District prosecutor Jeff Rosen said in a statement after the sentence that if someone wants to “do justice,” they should go to the police.
“A man’s decision to take the law in his own hands left an innocent and in danger of extinction, teachers and many others in our community,” Rosen said. “If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, request a badge.”
