UFC legend Cain Velasquez sentenced to 5 years in prison for 2022 shooting

Cain Velasquez is heading to prison. The erstwhile two-time UFC heavyweight champion was sentenced to 5 years for attempted execution and different charges astatine a proceeding Monday astatine the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice successful San Jose, California, ending a three-year saga that has been repeatedly delayed successful the courts.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra oversaw the case. NBC Bay Area archetypal reported the verdict Monday.

Velasquez, 42, faced 10 felony charges stemming from a 2022 incidental successful which helium allegedly engaged successful an 11-mile high-speed car pursuit with Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez's past 4-year-old lad connected “multiple occasions." Velasquez fired respective shots done his windshield from a .40-caliber handgun during the pursuit into a car carrying Goularte, Goularte's parent and Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, resulting successful non-life threatening injuries to Bender owed to a gunshot coiled to his arm. Photos showing Goularte’s motortruck lined with slug holes were presented again to the tribunal earlier Monday's sentencing.

Velasquez's 10 charges ranged from attempted murder, shooting astatine a centrifugal conveyance oregon aircraft, battle with a firearm, battle with a deadly weapon, willfully discharging a firearm from a conveyance and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to perpetrate a felony.

Velasquez pleaded nary contention to each charges related to his case. Prosecutors sought a condemnation of 30 years to beingness for Velasquez, portion the defence hoped to attain clip served and probation. Impact statements from Velasquez, his woman and his 15-year-old girl were delivered earlier Monday's proceedings, according to section reports, with Velasquez's girl pleading the tribunal to let the erstwhile UFC prima to be her high-school shot games. Statements from Harry Goularte and the Goularte household were besides read.

“My dada has ever been my biggest supporter. My dada is wherefore I’m beardown arsenic a person. He has the biggest heart,” Velasquez's girl said.

Velasquez's condemnation includes clip served. The erstwhile champ spent astir 1 twelvemonth incarcerated pursuing the 2022 incidental arsenic good arsenic astir 2 years connected location apprehension with an ankle monitor.

Local outlet KRON4 reported that Bocanegra was affectional and "had tears successful his eyes" arsenic helium delivered Velasquez's sentence.

Goularte presently awaits his ain June 2 proceedings day aft pleading not blameworthy to 1 complaint of lewd acts with a minor.

Velasquez's household has filed a abstracted civilian suit against the Goularte household and their businesses.

Speaking precocious connected the podcast of erstwhile teammate Kyle Kingsbury, Velasquez expressed remorse for his actions and accepted immoderate punishment came his way. Velasquez besides said helium has forgiven Goularte’s household for what happened; Goularte’s parent ran the daycare wherever the alleged molestation happened.

“What I did was not correct," Velasquez said. “I recognize that. I paid and I’ll wage immoderate other arsenic acold arsenic what I person to bash to wage each that back. I don’t deliberation I tin wage that back, but I tin ever larn from my mistakes and assistance others. It’s conscionable accusation that you ne'er cognize anybody. Trust your kids. Have that unfastened connection with your kids.

“[But] the mode that I handled things was not the mode to bash it. We cannot enactment the instrumentality successful our ain hands."

Velasquez (14-3) is 1 of the astir decorated heavyweights of his era. He archetypal captured the UFC heavyweight rubric successful 2010 with a first-round knockout of Brock Lesnar, past won the loop backmost again successful 2012 with a revenge triumph implicit Junior dos Santos. A prodigious endowment whose vocation was perennially snakebitten by injuries, Velasquez defended his title doubly with wins implicit Antonio Silva and successful a trilogy bout against dos Santos, earlier suffering a 2015 nonaccomplishment to Fabricio Werdum. Velasquez lone fought doubly much — erstwhile successful 2016 and erstwhile successful 2019 — earlier stepping distant from MMA entirely.

Velasquez past concisely pursued nonrecreational wrestling and adjacent signed with WWE from 2019-20 earlier being released from his woody owed to fiscal cuts during the aboriginal stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Velasquez was expected to service arsenic the manager of Team Dubai for the Global Fight League's debut play successful 2025, alongside his longtime manager astatine San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez. That evidently volition nary longer hap successful airy of Monday's news.

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