Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez was sentenced Monday at an emotionally fraught hearing to five years in prison for the attempted murder of a man accused of molesting one of his relatives.
Velasquez, 42, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, felony assault and related gun charges, according to the Santa Clara District Attorney's office. The case stemmed from a 2022 high-speed chase in Northern California in which Velasquez fired a handgun at a truck.
Prosecutors say Velasquez started shooting at an intersection and then followed the truck for 11 miles through San Jose.
Three people were in the truck, but Velasquez was targeting Harry Goularte, 46, who is accused of molesting Velasquez's relative. Goularte's stepfather was shot in the incident, the district attorney's office said.
Goularte is awaiting trial on felony child molestation charges and has denied the allegation.
The district attorney's office recommended that Velasquez be sentenced to 30 years in prison, accusing him of trying to murder all three people in the truck.
NBC Bay Area reported that Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra described Velasquez’s case as unique and said it could not be considered in a vacuum.
Velasquez’s sentence includes credit for time already served, so he is likely to spend about a year in prison, the station reported.
All three of the people in the truck spoke at sentencing, according to NBC Bay Area. Velasquez's wife and daughter also spoke.
A reporter for KRON-TV of San Francisco described Bocanegra as having tears in his eyes as he sentenced Velasquez, saying that "keeping a son from his father was the worst punishment," the reporter said on X.
Defense attorney Renee Hessling told reporters that despite disappointment that Velasquez is in custody, "justice was served today."
“I do think that the court made a good decision today," Hessling said, "one that takes into consideration all of the complexities of this case, the context about why this happened, and also takes into consideration who all of us know Mr. Velasquez to be, which is fundamentally a good man and a good father."
The Santa Clara District Attorney's Office described Velasquez's attack as a "vigilante shooting." District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement after the sentencing that if people want to "do justice," they should go into law enforcement.
"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," Rosen said. "If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge."