Cain Velasquez made his latest appearance in a Santa Clara County, Calif. courtroom on Wednesday as he takes another step towards setting a trial date for his ongoing case, in which he faces multiple charges including attempted murder.
The ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion appeared with Renee Hessling as his lawyer. Renee had been previously working alongside Mark Geragos on this case.
During the hearing, Hessling and Santa Clara County assistant district attorney Aaron French agreed on a March 8 date for the next appearance, which is where a trial date will be determined.
Velasquez faces multiple charges after he allegedly engaged in an 11-mile high-speed chase back in February while pursuing a car containing Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare facility owned by his mother. Velasquez allegedly pursued the vehicle while firing multiple rounds from a . 40 caliber handgun.
Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender was ultimately struck by a bullet and suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of the alleged attack.
Velasquez later was arrested and charged with attempted premeditated killing.
Velasquez was also allowed to answer a complaint regarding his recent trip to North Carolina. He had been granted bail, and then he was permitted to travel to Arizona for a professional wrestling match. Velasquez was then granted permission for another trip to North Carolina, but there was confusion about his GPS monitoring while out of state, which led to the report filed with the judge.
Velasquez had traveled to North Carolina for a charity event held at Fort Bragg where he was joined by fellow UFC veterans Ryan Bader and Dan Henderson.
” “I honestly don’t consider this an issue,” Hessling stated in court. It’s not willful to me, it is an honest error .”
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French noted that Velasquez had been denied bail numerous times before Judge Arthur Bocanegra ultimately ruled to allow him to be released on $1 million bail in November after spending eight months behind bars. French said that the prosecutors had “strongly objected to” his release, and that he ought to be disciplined for violating rules which allowed him to travel on bail. He spent eight months behind bars.
No actions were taken against Velasquez for the error other than noting that he continue to stay in contact with pre-trial services to prevent any further confusion about any allowances he’s granted while on release from jail.
For now, Velasquez will wait until March for his next appearance in court as he takes another step towards a trial date being set for his case.
If convicted of all charges, Velasquez may face life imprisonment.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/4/23539645/cain-velasquez-next-court-appearance-march-trial-date-expected-to-be-set-in-attempted-murder-case?rand=96749
