The trial setting hearing for former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been rescheduled for May 24th, following a hearing held at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice iearlier this month.
Velasquez appeared in-person, accompanied by his lead attorney Renee Hessling, who requested the hearing be pushed back to a later date. The request that was granted by Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya.
Velasquez is currently 40 years old and out on bail.
He has been charged with attempted murder and other multiple charges, and has already pleaded not guilty.
The charges stem from an incident in February 2022, during which Velasquez allegedly chased and shot at a vehicle carrying three people. Velasquez was detained for over eight months before he was granted bail in November 2022.
As per the prosecutors, Velasquez was targeting Harry Goularte, a man accused of assaulting Velasquez’s then-four-year-old son at a daycare. However, he ended up shooting Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, which caused injury.
Goularte was arrested prior to the alleged shooting and faces one felony charge. He has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court for his own trial setting date on April 12th.
If Cain Velasquez is found guilty of attempted murder, he could face a minimum of 20 years and up to life imprisonment as per the California penal code. But he might be able to get away with a suspended sentence.
A while ago there was a very similar case.
Jody Plauché was only 11 years old when he was kidnapped and abused by his karate teacher, Jeff Doucet. Doucet was eventually caught, but it was Jody’s father, Gary Plauché, who took the law into his own hands.
At first, Doucet seemed like a great instructor, and Jody even won a trophy under his guidance. But soon, Doucet began paying an inordinate amount of attention to Jody, even offering to teach him how to drive a car. When Jody sat on Doucet’s lap, he felt Doucet’s hands on his lap, but he didn’t say anything.
Eventually, Doucet began abusing Jody, but Jody remained silent, not wanting to upset his parents or get Doucet in trouble.
In February 1984, Doucet asked Jody if he wanted to go to California, and Jody agreed. Doucet then kidnapped Jody, shaved his beard, and dyed Jody’s hair black before taking him to a motel in Los Angeles.
There, Doucet had them holed up for several days until authorities caught up with them. Jody’s father, Gary, was waiting at the Baton Rouge Airport when Doucet was brought back to Louisiana to face justice. Gary shot Doucet dead.
Plauché was initially charged with second-degree murder, but agreed to a plea bargain in which he pleaded no contest to manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven years’ suspended sentence, with five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service, which he completed in 1989 as per wikipedia.