SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — A judge’s decision to keep Cain Velasquez behind bars with no bail while a suspected child molester is back in the community demonstrates “hypocrisy” in the criminal justice system, a defense attorney told reporters Monday.
Velasquez, a former UFC heavyweight champion, is accused of attempting to gun-down a man who allegedly molested one of Velasquez’s 4-year-old family members at a Bay Area daycare.
According to San Jose police, Velasquez drove 100 miles-per-hour as he chased and shot at the accused pedophile, Harry Goularte. The Feb. 28 chase stretched from Morgan Hill to San Jose on Highway 101 before one bullet struck a second man who was in Goularte’s vehicle.
Santa Clara County Judge Shelyna Brown has denied granting bail multiple times over the past few months for Velasquez. The judge denied his bail request again on Monday.
Dozens of #FreeCain supporters rallied outside the courthouse Monday, including many parents who are concerned that Goularte is out in the community.
One mother, Erica Trinchero, told KRON4, “You don’t let a man like Harry … out free. I am afraid every day for my children. I don’t know where (Harry Goularte) is. He’s got an ankle monitor on, supposedly. Is anybody monitoring him? We’re in a justice system that supports people like him. Zero cash bail for what he did? How do you feel safe here? It’s ridiculous.”
#FreeCain supporters held up signs reading, “The wrong man is behind bars.”
The 40-year-old MMA star hired celebrity defense attorney, Mark Geragos, to fight for his freedom.
Geragos expressed outrage over “the hypocrisy of this system.”
“Anybody who digs into this case will find out some of the most horrifying facts,” Gergaos told reporters outside the courthouse Monday. “This is a massive failure of the criminal justice system and we are going to continue to expose it.”
KRON4 obtained court documents detailing more about what happened at the daycare and on the day of the shooting.
Goularte, 43, is described as a “predatory pedophile” who lived at his mother’s daycare center, Patty’s Childcare, in San Martin. He molested a 4-year-old boy “hundreds of times” inside a bathroom of Patricia Goularte’s daycare center, court documents state.
Velasquez reported the suspected child abuse to police and Harry Goularte was arrested in February.
The MMA star was never notified by the court that Harry Goularte was released from custody on February 25 and back in the community, according to court documents.
“Goularte was arraigned on Feb. 25 and astonishingly, despite being an actual danger to the public safety and particularly to young children, and over the District Attorney’s objection, Goularte was released on his own recognizance and ordered to wear a GPS monitor,” court documents state.
“Three days later, on Feb. 28, Mr. Velasquez was shocked when he accidently encountered Patricia Goularte and her son, the accused pedophile,” court documents state.
Encountering both Goulartes was “triggering” for Velasquez because Patricia Goularte owned the daycare and had allowed her son to have access to vulnerable toddlers, court documents state.
“Mr. Velasquez’s conduct on that day of his encounter with Goularte was the result of being severely provoked by seeing Goularte freely out in the community to continue to abuse other children,” Geragos said.
Prosecutors filed a premeditated attempted murder charge against Velasquez and described the case as vigilantism. District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velasquez chose to take the law into his own hands.”
Impulse Control
Recently-filed court documents indicate that when Velasquez is put on trial, his defense team will likely tell the jury about Velasquez’s brain injuries.
Velasquez was recently diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, two degenerative brain diseases that resulted from years of UFC fighting, according to court documents. His brain was “significantly impacted” from multiple concussions suffered during his career as a UFC fighter.
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“Specifically, the EEGs showed that portions of his brain that control executive functioning and impulse control are impacted by these traumas. Because of this brain damage, Mr. Velasquez suffers from an impaired ability to control his impulses,” court documents state.
Velasquez retired from professional Mixed Martial Arts in 2019.