Former mixed martial artist Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison for carrying out a vigilante shooting rampage that wounded an unintended target and sprayed bullets near young children leaving school.
The shooting took place three years ago when the the two-time UFC heavyweight champion spotted the man accused of sexually assaulting his 4-year-old son and decided to take justice into his own hands, according to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.
In March 2022, he hurtled through the streets of three Silicon Valley cities, chasing a pickup truck carrying the suspected molester, Harry Goularte, and two other people. As he sped by a Morgan Hill intersection, he began unleashing multiple rounds from his .40-caliber handgun, prosecutors said.
When the victims tried to flee, he rammed into their vehicle and continued firing. The driver was hit in the torso, and a major artery was severed in his arm. A volley of bullets struck near the Charter School of Morgan Hill just as students were leaving for the day, prosecutors said.
Velasquez’s 11-mile car chase came to a screeching halt in San Jose, where he was arrested that afternoon.
Last year, he entered a plea of no contest to felony attempted murder, assault and multiple weapons charges. On Monday, the 42-year-old retired fighter received a five-year prison sentence.
“One man’s decision to take the law into his own hands left an innocent man wounded and endangered schoolchildren, teachers, and many others in our community,” said Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen in a statement on the sentencing. “If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge.”
According to Velasquez’s attorneys, he learned in February 2022 that his son had been molested by Goularte “hundreds of times” while attending a San Marin day care center run by Goularte’s mother.
Goularte was arrested in February 2022 on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor; however, a judge released him two days later. The following day, Velasquez saw him on the streets and decided to seek revenge.
Investigators found searches for “sexual assault case where victims [sic] family fights back” and “sexual assault cases where victims [sic] family retaliates” on his phone, prosecutors said.
Goularte, 46, still has pending felony child molestation charges, prosecutors said. He remains out of custody after a judge granted him supervised release with GPS monitoring, despite objections from the district attorney’s office.
Velasquez entered his no contest plea in August and, as a result, premeditated attempted murder charges against him were dropped, meaning he no longer faced a possible life sentence.
He was released from jail on $1-million bail in November 2022 after spending more than 250 days in custody. He was required to wear a GPS monitor and go to outpatient treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can be caused by a history of concussions.
His attorneys argued that past traumatic brain injuries and a possible CTE diagnosis impaired Velasquez’s ability to control his impulses.
On Monday, he was remanded into custody.
Velasquez was born in Salinas, raised in Yuma, Ariz., and competed for the Arizona State University wrestling team. He went on to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title in 2010 and 2012. He retired from his mixed martial arts career in 2019 and became a pro wrestler.
The post Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez gets prison for vigilante shooting targeting son’s accused abuser appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
