Judge Arthur Bocanegra was nearly brought to tears while issuing a five-year prison sentence to ex-UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in a Santa Clara county courthouse on Monday.
According to numerous reports, the judge got choked up addressing Velasquez in the courtroom after he pleaded no contest to attempted murder and other various charges related to his arrest in 2022 after going on an 11-mile, high-speed chase pursuing a vehicle containing Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting the fighter’s young son at a daycare owned by his mother.
Velasquez fired several rounds from a .40 caliber handgun during the car chase but ultimately struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result.
While prosecutors asked for a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, Bocanegra vehemently disagreed and stated that “punishment comes in many ways, and one of the worst is forcing a father to not be present in his child’s life.”
The judge weighed numerous factors when deciding on the sentence, and while Velasquez was the offender in the attempted murder case, he also considered his family as victims due to his young son’s involvement in the child molestation allegations.
Bocanegra also noted during sentencing that Velasquez had no prior criminal record and has since expressed remorse for his actions on that fateful day in February 2022.
“This is a tragic case,” Bocanegra said in court, per KRON4. “Mr. Velasquez is not a danger to public safety.
“This case is unique and unlike any other case this court has presided over. The mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors.”
Velasquez initially spent eight months behind bars following his arrest with a separate judge denying his bail on numerous occasions.
It was actually Bocanegra who eventually granted Velasquez his release on bail along with conditions of house arrest with the fighter wearing an ankle monitor and restrictions about work and travel.
As a result of previous time spent in jail along with house arrest, Velasquez gets credit for 1,283 days towards his sentence, which means he will likely spend less than two years in prison.
Velasquez was allowed to spend a moment with his family after the sentencing but then he was remanded into custody.
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