Jailed former UFC champ thanks his supporters
SAN JOSE >> On the same day of his latest court appearance, former mixed martial arts champion Cain Velasquez has made his first public statement since being charged with attempted murder in March.
On April 12, Velasquez, 39, thanked his supporters in a social media post that described his case as “complex.” The circumstances underpinning his criminal charges have elicited a public debate about vigilantism, with his backers portraying him as a defender of his family and prosecutors describing him as someone who unjustly took the law into his own hands and endangered the public.
“To everyone that has expressed your support, my family and I will never be able to thank you enough,” Velasquez said in a statement. “From the bottom of our hearts and the depths of our souls, we are forever grateful for your love.”
After being charged last month with 10 assault and weapons crimes that could result in more than 20 years of jail time, Velasquez was denied bail on March 7. He remains in custody at the Santa Clara County Main Jail.
During a brief hearing on April 12 in a San Jose courtroom, packed with more than three dozen supporters of Velasquez, a May 6 court date was set and he did not enter a plea. His attorney Mark Geragos told Judge Jose Franco that in the meantime, he plans to file a motion to make a second attempt at securing Velasquez's release from jail, through cash bail, a home detention arrangement, or both.
Outside the courthouse, Geragos declined to comment on the case other than to direct reporters and the public to Velasquez's new statement. He was flanked by supporters holding signs emblazoned with #Freecain.
Velasquez's message included a note hinting at his potential motive for shooting at 43-year-old Harry Eugene Goularte: A criminal charge alleging that Goularte molested a child relative of Velasquez at a San Martin daycare operated by Goularte's mother. After he was arraigned Feb. 25, Goularte was granted supervised release.
Authorities say that on Feb. 28, Goularte's parents drove from San Martin to Morgan Hill to pick up their son and take him to San Jose so that he could get outfitted for an ankle monitor, and it was during that trip that Velasquez drove up to the Goulartes' pickup truck, shot and followed them as they drove away.
The pursuit ended near Monterey Highway and Bailey Road on the southern edges of San Jose, where Velasquez fired several shots at the truck, wounding Goularte's stepfather. Velasquez was arrested a short distance away by San Jose police.
Ever since Velasquez was arrested and charged, he has drawn wide support from the mixed martial arts world, centered on American Kickboxing Academy, the San Jose-based gym from which he rose to prominence in the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, eventually becoming a two-time heavyweight title belt holder.
Geragos has used most of his public comments to draw attention to the allegations against Goularte and what he described as the injustice of Velasquez being in jail to rectify a danger created when Goularte was spared from jail. The attorney has also referenced how sheriff's investigators are exploring the possibility of additional victims linked to Goularte, a point that Velasquez nodded to in his statement.
“To the true victims of this case, may God give you the strength to come forward,” Velasquez wrote.