SAN JOSE — The trial for Cain Velasquez — the former mixed-martial arts champion charged with trying to kill a man accused of molesting his child and instead shooting the man’s stepfather after a lengthy South Bay car chase — is set to start September 9, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The scheduled start date in Santa Clara County Superior Court would be nearly two years after another judge determined there was enough evidence for Velasquez, who fought professionally out of San Jose, to stand trial on attempted murder and nine gun assault charges. It would also be more than 2½ years after the shooting, which occurred in late February 2022.
Judge Elizabeth Peterson on Wednesday also set a pre-trial hearing for June 26 to determine whether the prosecution and defense will be ready to go to trial in September.
Velasquez has been out of jail custody since he was granted $1 million bail and monitored release after the November 2022 preliminary examination that sent his case to trial.
Since then, he has been allowed to participate in wrestling and mixed-martial arts events in California and Arizona, in accordance with his release terms that allow court-approved travel for work. He has also coached at the American Kickboxing Academy, the San Jose school he represented during his ascent to becoming a UFC heavyweight titleholder in the previous decade.
Velasquez was not required to appear in court for Wednesday’s hearing after getting a court waiver, and has mostly let his attorney, Renee Hessling, appear on his behalf through an entire year of trial-setting hearings as she and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office worked through procedural matters.
Velasquez’s lawyer said after the hearing Wednesday that she did not know if she would be prepared for a trial in early September. She has subpoenaed medical records and other information, but the materials are incomplete, she said, declining to describe the records and information.
Velasquez, 41, is charged with shooting at Harry Goularte Jr. at least twice as he traveled with his mother Patricia Goularte and his stepfather Paul Bender, who were reportedly driving him from Morgan Hill to San Jose on Feb. 28, 2022 to be fitted for an ankle monitor at a county office. Three days earlier, Goularte Jr. was arraigned on a felony charge of a lewd and lascivious act with a child, based on claims that he abused Velasquez’s son at a San Martin home daycare run by his mother. Goularte Jr. was granted supervised release over the objection of prosecutors.
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Bender was wounded at the end of the Feb. 28 encounter, which included a lengthy car chase that ended with Velasquez reportedly shooting at the family amid afternoon traffic near Monterey Road and Bailey Avenue.
Goularte Jr., 45, has since been ordered to stand trial, but the case is still in the trial-setting phase from which Velasquez just emerged.
Velasquez faces up to life in prison if he’s convicted of the charges. His attorneys have indicated in previous court filings that Velasquez suffered impulse control issues and brain injuries from his mixed-martial arts career.
They have also hinted they might proxy litigate the sexual-assault charge against Goularte Jr., and argue Velasquez was acting in response to the criminal-justice system failing his family. Velasquez is suing Goularte Jr. and his parents for the alleged sexual abuse; progress of the lawsuit has been paused pending the criminal case.