Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted murder of a man accused of molesting his relative during an emotionally fraught Monday hearing.
Velasquez, 42, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, felony assault charges, and other related gun charges, according to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office. The case stemmed from a 2022 high-speed chase in Northern California where Velasquez fired a handgun at a truck.
Prosecutors say Velasquez first started shooting at an intersection and then followed the truck for 11 miles through San Jose.
There were three people in the truck at the time, but Velasquez was targeting 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s relative. It was Goularte’s stepfather who 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 Velasquez be sentenced to 30 years in prison, accusing him of trying to murder all three people inside the truck.
