Cain Velasquez Shooting Sparks Debate Over Vigilante Justice; 'He Had To Take Matters Into His Own Hands'
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- While former MMA Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez stood in front of judge, hearing the attempted murder and several charges levied against him, the courtroom was filled with dozens of supporters, wearing "#FreeCain" t-shirts, who say the shooting was justified.
The charges stem from his involvement car chase and shooting days before. An innocent man was wounded after Velasquez opened fire on a vehicle containing a man suspected of molesting a minor relative of the former MMA champion.
His intention, prosecutors say, was to kill or injure 43-year-old Harry Goularte, who had been released by authorities after being charged with felony child molestation.
A little after 3 p.m. Monday, Morgan Hill Police received word of a shooting near the intersection of Cochran Road and Butterfield Boulevard. Responding officers arrived to find victim -- Paul Bender -- suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
According to police, Velasquez followed Bender's vehicle because Goularte was inside. At the time of the shooting, Bender – Goularte's stepfather – was driving Goularte to obtain an electronic monitoring bracelet that was a condition of his release from jail.
Velasquez chased the victim's vehicle, a Chevy Silverado, for 11 miles before ramming into it. After the collision, Velasquez opened fire on the vehicle with a handgun, hitting Bender. Goularte's mother, who was in the vehicle, called 911.
"I don't blame him, I 100% don't blame him," said supporter Eric Christensen. "What Cain did, he had to take matters into his own hands."
Others disagree.
"What he did was put the public in danger," said prosecuting attorney Aaron French.
Paula Canny, a criminal defense attorney, legal analyst and long-time former deputy district attorney, agrees with French.
She said she hopes the public outcry doesn't have any impact on Velasquez's case.
"I don't want even mixed martial arts fighters who are champions to get to go around and fire guns in public places and to take the law into his own hands; it's horrifying, it's frightening," said Canny. "There is no defense of vigilante justice, and that's probably a good thing. Otherwise, the whole system would devolve into vigilantism. There is on defense of 'I was so mad, I had to do it.'"
Velasquez, who has hired celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, was booked into the Santa Clara County main jail and held without bail. His arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., but was postponed until next Monday.
"The community is behind him on what happened," said family friend Erin McNabb.
According to charging documents against Goularte, authorities charged the San Martin resident over his actions at a child care facility run by his wife where he lived but didn't work. The facility cares for 20 children and Goularte is charged with inappropriately touching a child of the facility on multiple occasions.
Goularte had been released with no bail as part of the "Supervised Own Recognizance Program" (SORP), against the district attorney's office request.
"The court disagreed with us and agreed that he could be released without bail. That was not a decision that we agreed with. But it is a decision that we respect. We respect the judge's decision in that case. We do not believe that that justified the conduct in this case, particularly given how reckless it was and how much it endangered the general public," said Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Angela Bernhard.
