Ex-WWE, UFC Star Cain Velasquez Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For 2022 Shooting (WWE News)
Velasquez was on trial for firing a handgun at a car containing a man accused of molesting his son.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and WWE competitor Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison following his involvement in a 2022 shooting.
Velasquez was sentenced on Monday at Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose, California, having pleaded no contest to several charges including attempted murder, assault, and weapons-related charges. As part of a high-speed chase in February 2022, the 42-year-old had fired a handgun at a car containing a man (Harry Goularte) accused of molesting Velasquez's then-four-year-old son at a daycare centre owned by Goularte's family. The gunfire penetrated Goularte's vehicle, injuring his stepfather, Paul Bender, causing injury.
Cain's five-year sentence includes credit for over three-and-a-half years of time already served in prison and at home. His lawyers believe that with this factored in, Velasquez will likely spend another year in prison.
Prosecutors were seeking 30 years to life from the judge, while the defence requested no prison time.
Following the incident, Velasquez initially served nine months in prison and was denied bail several times until a judge granted him a conditional release. The former UFC heavyweight remained on GPS tracking during this period.
During a recent appearance on the Kyle Kingsbury Podcast, Cain accepted responsibility for his actions and said he was ready for whatever punishment was coming his way (h/t MMA Junkie):
“From what I can say as far as myself, the way that I handled things was not the way to do it,” Velasquez said. “We cannot put the law in our own hands. … I’ve already pled guilty [no contest], so I’m going to get a sentencing (Monday). I know what I did, and I know what I did was very dangerous to other people, you know? Not just people involved, but to innocent people. I understand what I did and I’m willing to do everything I have to (in order) to pay that back. Whatever the court feels correct for what I have to do, I’m going to do it with my head up and still be me and not play the blame game. It was me that did that and reacted in that way.”
Velasquez last fought for the UFC in February 2019, when he was defeated by Francis Ngannou. He competed briefly for WWE in October 2019, losing to Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, but did not feature again before being released the following April.