Cain Velasquez He filed a plea in the attempt to murder case in 2022.
According to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, UFC Champion He pleaded no contest to felony murder and gun charges under a negotiated deal with the prosecutor’s office.
The charges stem from an incident in which Velasquez allegedly shot at another vehicle during a high-speed chase. The man accused of molesting Velasquez’s 4-year-old relative was in the other vehicle at the time.
The man’s stepfather was also inside the car and was injured by the bullets.
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Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in the corner of Gabriel Benitez of Mexico during the UFC Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 13, 2024. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Velasquez, who stepped away from competitive mixed martial arts in 2019, was scheduled to go to trial in September. Rosen’s office said he could still face prison time.
But the no contest plea means that the premeditated murder charges against Velasquez will be dropped. Velasquez will no longer face a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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The man accused of molesting the boy is the adult son of the woman who operated the day care center where the child lived.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in the corner of Gabriel Benitez during their featherweight fight against David Onyama during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC Apex on Feb. 19, 2022 in Las Vegas. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Rosen said the location of the shootings poses a danger to children and their parents.
“This defendant decided to be judge, jury and executioner. His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents, who could have been injured or killed had he fired at his intended victim,” Rosen said in a statement.
“We have excellent law enforcement agencies in this county. Let them do their job.”
Cain Velasquez has his hands wrapped backstage during a UFC Fight Night event at Talking Stick Resort Arena on February 17, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Velasquez is suspected of using a .40-caliber handgun to fire multiple rounds at the pickup truck, but the stepfather is not believed to have been the target. The victim was shot in the arm and torso.
Velasquez was arrested in 2022 and released from prison in November 2022 after depositing the security Harry Goularte, the sex abuse accused, is on trial on child abuse charges.
Velasquez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.
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Velasquez and his attorney, Renee Hessling, declined to comment after Friday’s court hearing, the Bay Area News Group reports.
Velasquez won his first UFC Heavyweight Championship by defeating Junior dos Santos in 2012. Velasquez successfully defended his title twice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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