Cain Velasquez has accepted a plea agreement with the Santa Clara County D.A. Office and pleaded no contest in his attempted murder case, which was scheduled to go to trial.
The East Bay Times reports that the former UFC heavyweight champion pleaded no-contest on Friday with the expectation he will receive a more lenient sentence and avoid a lifetime sentence.
Velasquez made the plea in a San Jose courtroom on Friday in front of Judge Arthur Bocanegra with premeditation charges being dropped in his attempted murder case after his 2022 arrest.
Velasquez was set to go to trial next month but with the plea agreement, he will be sentenced later this year and avoid a lifetime sentence, which he was facing if he went to a jury trial.
Velasquez was arrested after a February 2022 shooting where Velasquez opened fire on a vehicle containing Harry Goularte Jr., a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son. The former UFC fighter didn’t hit the intended target and instead, struck Goularte’s father-in-law, Paul Bender. Goularte is facing a felony charge of a lewd and lascivious act with a child with his case in the pre-trial stage.
Velasquez was held in custody until a $1 million bail was set and he has been out of prison since November 2022.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen was not happy regarding the plea agreement when issuing a statement:
This defendant decided to become judge, jury, and executioner. His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed as he shot at his intended victim.
Velasquez is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on October 18 and is expected to receive his sentencing before the end of 2024.
Velasquez fought for the UFC from 2008 until 2019, becoming UFC heavyweight champion in October 2010 when he stopped Brock Lesnar in the first round of their UFC 121 fight in Anaheim, California. He retired from the sport following a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2019 and signed with the WWE that year for a match with Lesnar at the Crown Jewel. He was released by the company the following April in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
