Former UFC fighter Cain Velasquez was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for attempted murder in a 2022 shooting in California.
The two-time UFC heavyweight champion faced 10 felony charges after engaging in a high-speed chase with a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s four-year-old son. During the chase, Velasquez fired several shots from a .40-caliber handgun into a car with Harry Goularte, hitting Goularte’s stepfather in the arm.
Velasquez pleaded no contest to all the charges.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, but Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra issued the five-year sentence that includes time her already served. The former champ spent nearly one year in custody and nearly two years of house arrest following the incident.
Velasquez’s lawyer told NBC Bay Area she expects he will end up serving another year in prison.
‘I believe that, in some ways, justice was served today despite feeling disappointed that he is back in custody,’ attorney Renee Hessling said.
Goularte, whose mother ran the daycare where the alleged molestation happened, faces his own trial in June after pleading not guilty to one charge of lewd acts with a minor.
Velasquez’s family has filed a separate civil lawsuit against the Goularte family and their businesses.