John Jefferson
Left: Cain Velasquez speaks after his release from jail in 2022 (Law&Crime Sidebar). Right: Harry Goularte (Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office).
Prosecutors in Santa Clara County, California, dubbed Cain Velasquez a would-be “judge, jury, and executioner” and said he still faces prison time after the retired UFC star pleaded no contest on Friday to attempted murder and other charges for engaging in a 100 mph pursuit and shooting at a truck in 2022 in search of the man accused of molesting his then 4-year-old son at a day care.
Velasquez, now 42, had faced possible mandatory life behind bars, albeit with potential parole, if he went forward with a September trial and ended up convicted in the case, but according the Mercury News, he has avoided both the trial and likely the theoretical worst case scenario given the plea, even though the judge will retain discretion under a negotiated disposition between the state and the defense over whether to dole out probation, a prison sentence, or life, whenever that sentencing proceeding occurs.
In a statement after Velasquez appeared in court and pleaded no contest to attempted murder, felony assault, and gun offenses, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said that on Feb. 28, 2022, Velasquez took it upon himself to hunt down 43-year-old Harry Goularte, he appointed himself “judge, jury, and executioner” and “endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed as he shot at his intended victim” near an elementary school as kids exited.
Prosecutors alleged that Velasquez, armed with a pistol, embarked on a vigilante-style high-speed chase over 11 miles through San Jose and opened fire at a truck that Goularte and two others were in, wounding Goularte’s stepfather in the shoulder.
After his exit from jail on a $1 million bond in November 2022, Velasquez thanked everyone who supported him.
Cain Velasquez in March 2022 (San Jose Police Department).
“I love all of you,” he said. “Just always continuing to be better as a person, always do good things, and, yeah, just make something positive of this terrible situation, you know.”
“My family and I, we’re going to do that,” Velasquez added.
Over time, the defense began to develop the argument that even if what Velasquez did was illegal, jurors might be unwilling to convict him and would be sympathetic toward him based on the reason for the shooting: a father’s rage over the repeated sexual abuse of his son.
Velasquez went on to sue Harry Goularte, who allegedly touched the victim “100 times” while working at Patty’s Childcare, a day care owned by Goularte’s mother.
To this day, Goularte faces felony child molestation charges and is out of jail while subject to GPS monitoring, according to prosecutors, who said they objected to the defendant’s release by a judge.
For prosecutors, Velasquez’s act of vigilantism, which also put the general public at risk, went too far, and the defendant’s cell phone searches were telling as to his intent.
“A search of the suspect’s phone found searches for ‘sexual assault case where victims family fights back’ and ‘sexual assault cases where victims family retaliates,”” a press release said.
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