[CW: Child Abuse]
Cain Velasquez was arrested Monday afternoon, and charged with attempted murder following his alleged involvement in a shooting in San Jose, California. The two-time UFC champion is currently being held without bail at the Santa Clara County main jail.
While details on the incident were scarce early on, reports and court documents now show a possible motive for the shooting.
NBC Bay Area and Mercury News both detailed the alleged incident from police documents and various sources, reporting that Velasquez is accused of shooting at 43-year-old Harry Eugene Goularte.
Goularte was arrested the week prior, and is facing one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child.
According to the criminal complaint, Goularte lives in a house that hosts a daycare business run by his mother. Goularte is being accused of touching a child in the daycare’s bathroom, with the alleged victim on record stating that he “witnessed several other children” go in there with Goularte as well.
Goularte denied any wrong doing, claiming he only “once helped a child with his pants.”
Both outlets report through multiple sources that one of the alleged victims is closely related to Velasquez. NBC Bay Area says court documents note that the alleged abuse on Velasquez’s family member may have happened “100 times.”
Goularte has been out of jail after reportedly being granted a “supervised” release, despite objections from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Days later, Velasquez was arrested for allegedly shooting at a vehicle that Goularte and two others were in.
Goularte’s step father was said to be the one wounded and taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
If convicted, Velasquez could be facing fifteen years to life in prison for first degree attempted murder. More details should come to light after Velasquez is in arraigned on Wednesday.
Velasquez is a decorated MMA fighter that held the UFC heavyweight title on two separate occasions. He transitioned to pro-wrestling after his last MMA bout in 2019, signing with the WWE, and then now with AAA.