Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five-years in prison after pleading no-contest to charges that included attempted murder.
Velasquez had been arrested back in February 2022 after he engaged in a high-speed pursuit of Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting his four-year-old son at a daycare centre owned by his mother, and during the 11-mile chase shot at him multiple times, injuring Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender in the process.
Prosecutors had been looking for Velasquez to be handed a sentence of 30-years to life, but in the end the former UFC legend was handed what’s deemed to be a relatively lenient five years, and the word is that he may only serve a year of that sentence due to being given credit for time already served between nine months in jail and a further two years on house arrest.
Velasquez had received widespread support from the MMA community during the years since his arrest, and it appears that even Judge Arthur Bocanegra had a great deal of sympathy for him as his voice was said to have been emotional as he handed down the sentence in court yesterday.
“Punishment comes in many ways, and one of the worst is forcing a father to not be present in his child’s life,” Bocanegra said in court, adding later that, “This is a tragic case. Mr. Velasquez is not a danger to public safety.”
Velasquez also spoke in court to apologize for his action, stating that, “I am truly sorry. My actions were reckless and extremely dangerous. I’m ashamed and regretful for how I handled myself on the day of my crime.
“Out of all this, I wish safe healing for my family, and to the Goulartes, I wish safe healing, and to the community, I wish safe healing.”
Meanwhile, Harry Goularte’s case regarding the alleged sexual abuse of Velasquez’s young son is due to begin in June.
