SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — MMA star Cain Velasquez will remain behind bars after a Santa Clara County judge denied granting bail on Monday.
Velasquez allegedly took the law into his own hands when he attempted to shoot a suspected child sex predator, Harry Goularte, according to prosecutors.
Goularte is charged with molesting one of Velasquez’s relatives, a 4-year-old boy, at a daycare San Martin.
Prosecutors charged Velasquez with attempted murder and described the Feb. 28 shooting as vigilantism.
Velasquez chased the accused predator on Highway 101 from Morgan Hill to San Jose before he rammed his vehicle into Goularte’s pickup truck and opened fire, according to investigators.
Police said Velasquez was aiming for Goularte, but the bullets struck another man who was in the truck.
The former UFC heavyweight champion hired celebrity defense attorney, Mark Geragos, to fight for his freedom.
He also has many supporters from the community who organized a “Free Cain” movement and rallied outside the courthouse.
Geragos spoke to reporters after Velasquez was escorted out of the courtroom Monday in handcuffs.
“If you believe what the DA says the motivation is — is there anybody out there who would say to a father, that this is not what you should do? A father who was not consulted when they released a perpetrator back into the public with $0 bail, yet they are holding Cain on no bail?” Geragos said.
Goularte, 43, remains out of custody as he awaits trial.
“This is why people are disgusted, and rightfully so, with the criminal justice system,” Geragos said.
Judge Shelyna Brown took issue with the MMA fighter’s high speed chase for “extreme recklessness.”
“Ramming a vehicle in the middle of the day where are citizens are out driving, going about their business and shooting out of a car at other individuals, which is reckless by any standard. Anyone could have been killed. There will be no bail set at this time,” Judge Brown said Monday.
Velasquez trained and coached at American Kickboxing Academy gym in south San Jose.
Many high-profile voices in the sport of MMA are expressing support for Velasquez.
Podcaster and UFC analyst Joe Rogan said the suspected child molester deserved a beating.
“I mean, my only wish is that he did it with his hands,” Rogan said on a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
MMA fighter Eddie Alvarez tweeted, “The justice system failed Cain Velasquez and his family … any normal man would do the same. If the justice system did their job properly he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do what he did.”
WWE star Ronda Rousey wrote on social media that if she had been in Velasquez’s position, she would have done “the same thing” or “worse.”
Velasquez, 39, is charged with premeditated attempted murder.
Goularte was uninjured in the attack and his stepfather was shot in the arm.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velasquez chose to take the law into his own hands, endangering the public and everyone in the truck. This act of violence also causes more pain and suffering to his family.”
“A judge released (Goularte) from custody without bail over the District Attorney’s objections. He was released under the conditions that he stay in home detention in Morgan Hill, stay 100 yards away from any child under 14, and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. Goularte was on his way to get the monitor when Cain attacked,” prosecutors said.
Velasquez is scheduled to be back in court on April 12.
