Former MMA Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez Denied Bail On Attempted Murder Charge
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A judge denied former MMA Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez bail Monday on attempted murder and other charges stemming from a shooting targeting a man who has been charged with felony child molestation.
A plea to the charges was carried over to an April 12th hearing. In the court, Velasquez was accompanied by his attorney, Mark Geragos, who is well known in the Bay Area from his defense of Scott Peterson.
Geragos asked the judge for bail to be set so that Velasquez could have the opportunity to return to his family. The judge refused, setting no bail and saying the "risk is too great" for public safety, and for the family of accused sexual assault suspect Harry Goularte to release Velasquez.
"I think the judge made her comments very clear that Mr. Velasquez, his conduct in this case, endangered a great number of people, and he poses a serious risk of danger to the public and to the specific victim in this case," said Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Angela Bernhard.
The victim in the molestation case is related to Velasquez. His intention, prosecutors say, was to kill or injure Goularte, who had been released by authorities after being charged in the molestation case.
"Our office did oppose his release. We asked for him to be held on no bail. The judge disagreed with us, and released him with an electronic monitoring bracelet. And while we disagree with that decision, we respect the court's right to make those types of decisions," said Bernhard.
Geragos, standing alongside Velasquez's wife Michelle, said during a press conference outside the courthouse following the Monday hearing, that the criminal justice system is "irretrievably broken."
"Is there anybody out there who finds it to be beyond the pale, when they released the perpetrator back into the public with zero dollars bail? Yet they're holding Cain on no bail," said Geragos. "This is why people are disgusted -- and rightfully so -- with the criminal justice system.
"We plan on vindicating Cain. We plan on getting Cain back to his family," Geragos added. "40 years of doing this, I can't believe this is what the criminal justice system thinks is the right outcome."
Dozens of Velasquez's supporters filled the courtroom, many wearing "#FreeCain" t-shirts.
"The rage he must have felt when that man was let out with no bail, I can't even imagine," said Velasquez supporter Erica Trinchero. "The wrong man is behind bars."
The incident began when Morgan Hill police received word around 3 p.m. Feb. 28 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.
Many Velasquez supporters claim the beloved former MMA heavyweight champion was justified in hunting down Goularte.
"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."
But other legal experts say there is no justification allowing someone to take the law into their own hands.
"What he did was put the public in danger," said prosecuting attorney Aaron French.
RELATED: Former MMA Champ Cain Velasquez Arrested In San Jose Shooting
Professor Robert Weisman, Co-Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said Velasquez's defense team could very well use Goularte's no-bail release to mount a crime of passion argument.
"And here's the little calibration here, he'd be arguing that a reasonable person would have been provoked to such outrage that he would have been tempted to kill. The fully reasonable person would have overcome that temptation. But a reasonable person might be susceptible to that temptation," said Weisman. "So the result is we split the difference changing attempted murder to some species of assault. And that would be a way of splitting things on a passion theory."
Velasquez's next court date is set for April 12th at 1:30 p.m.
Kiet Do contributed to this story.
