Read the latest on the Cain Velasquez case: 11-mile chase, rammed a car, then shot at man accused of molesting an underage relative.
South Bay mixed-martial arts star Cain Velasquez was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly shot at a man who was recently charged with molesting a close relative of Velasquez, according to multiple sources and court records.
Velasquez’s shots wounded the defendant’s stepfather in the encounter off Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue on the southern edges of San Jose, multiple law-enforcement sources confirmed. That evening, Velasquez, 39, a former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion based out of San Jose, was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and is being held without bail.
Velasquez declined a request Tuesday from this news organization for a jail interview. His arraignment is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.
Court records and sources with close knowledge of the case have described a sequence that began last week after Velasquez’s relative reported being molested by a man at a home daycare in San Martin.
This news organization is withholding the child’s name and exact relationship to Velasquez because the child is a minor and reported sexual abuse victim.
The accused man, 43-year-old Harry Eugene Goularte, lives at the home that hosts a daycare business run by his mother, according to a criminal complaint that charged Goularte with one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14. Goularte was arraigned Friday, and a judge granted him supervised release, over objections from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
RELATED: MMA star Cain Velasquez allegedly chased then shot at man accused of molesting underage relative
Three days later, at about 3:15 p.m. Monday, Velasquez allegedly opened fire at a car carrying Goularte, his stepfather and at least one other person near a cloverleaf interchange where Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue overlap, according to police and sources familiar with the investigation.
The stepfather was hit at least once and is expected to survive. Police have not disclosed any information about the shooting beyond basic location details and their formal suspicion of Velasquez as the shooter.
“The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time,” police said in a tweet.
Attempts to reach Goularte’s family and attorney were not immediately successful Tuesday afternoon.
The news of the shooting left fighters at American Kickboxing Academy, the South San Jose gym where Velasquez trained and coached, shocked and in disbelief. His picture hangs prominently inside the gym, alongside other top-ticket UFC fighters.
“I just couldn’t believe it – I still can’t believe it. Still can’t believe anything,” said Giovanni Amador Rosales, who added that he has known Velasquez for several years and saw him at the training facility as recently as last week.
Velasquez, who retired from MMA in 2019, is a former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, having earned title belts in 2010 and 2012, the first fighter of Mexican descent to achieve that accolade. He was born in Salinas and was raised in Yuma, Arizona. He won a junior college national wrestling title and was a two-time All-American at Arizona State University before he pivoted to mixed-martial arts.
Velasquez carried a career record of 14-3, though injuries slowed the latter portion of his career, and he lost his last bout in 2019. Recently he had ventured into professional wrestling.
He initially gained prominence as he trained at AKA, and was among several high-profile fighters — including former UFC champion, current commentator and Gilroy High School wrestling coach Daniel Cormier — who gave the gym an international profile over the past decade.
When reached by phone on Tuesday morning, Cormier declined to comment on Velasquez’s arrest, saying, “I’m not going to talk about that.”
While some fighters at AKA also declined to talk to a reporter Tuesday, others voiced surprise at the arrest, calling Velasquez a “sweet” coach who was generous with advice and serene in his approach to helping fighters improve their form. Amador Rosales was among them.
“He’s taught me so much about wrestling that I’ve never known before,” Amador Rosales said outside the gym. “He’s taught me discipline in it as well. He’s taught me the most amazing little tweaks that have just improved my wrestling game so much.”
Amador Rosales said he was an amateur fighter when he first met Velasquez about five years ago, and that he saw him last week when Velasquez visited the gym with his young son.
“We’re all fighters, and I know that what you see on television is us beating people up,” Amador Rosales said. “But we’re humble … and Cain Velasquez has always been a humble guy, in defeat and victory. I’ve never seen him once in my entire life here ever throw a fit ever once – not once a tantrum, nothing. He’s not an angry guy at all.”
