Ex-UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Granted Bail in Attempted Murder Case

The former UFC heavyweight champion had served eight months in jail prior to Tuesday’s ruling.

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of childhood sexual abuse. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org.

A judge granted Cain Velasquez $1 million bail on Tuesday after the former UFC heavyweight champion served eight months behind bars in California’s Santa Clara County while awaiting trial for attempted murder.

Velasquez, who had been in jail since Feb. 28, was allowed bail at the conclusion of a pretrial hearing by Judge Arthur Bocanegra. However, prior to Tuesday, Velasquez was previously denied bail on four different occasions by Judge Shelyna Brown.

Mark Geragos, Velasquez’s attorney, told ESPN that his client will have to wear a GPS tracker and will not be allowed within 300 yards of the presumed victims as rules of his obtained bail. Geragos also stated that securing a hearing with Bocanegra played an integral role in the judge’s decision to grant bail.

“Instead of listening to all this hyperbole and nonsense bandied about, we had a hearing with cross-examinations and witnesses under oath,” Geragos said, per ESPN.

Velasquez, 40, faces charges of attempted murder of Harry Goularte and several additional charges that include one count of shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft, three counts of assault with a firearm, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle and one count of carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in August. 

In a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Velasquez in June, Goularte is accused of molesting Velasquez’s 4-year-old son. Velasquez is accused of chasing after Goularte in his car and firing multiple shots into Goularte’s truck with a 40-caliber handgun. At the time of the shooting, Goularte; Goularte’s step-father, Paul Bender; and Goularte’s mother, Patricia, were inside the truck, according to court documents that were obtained by the Denver Post in August. One bullet struck Bender, but he did not suffer significant injuries.

On Feb. 24, Velasquez told police that Goularte touched his son’s genitals in the bathroom of a daycare center. Per court documents, Velasquez’s son indicated that Goularte told him not to speak of what happened in the bathroom.