Cain Velasquez: Justice Deserved Or Justice Denied?

What Happened?

On the 28th February 2022, retired MMA fighter and professional wrestler Cain Velasquez was arrested and charged with various crimes including attempted first degree murder. He had engaged in a high speed chase and had shot a person.

The world was shocked by this news as Velasquez was known by all accounts to be a loving family man with a spotless reputation. True enough, there was more to the shooting than initially believed.

One of the occupants of the car that Velasquez had pursued was Harry Goularte. Goularte had been charged for molesting a close relative of Velasquez who has since been revealed to be one of the MMA star’s young children. It should be noted that Goularte has maintained his innocence.

Despite the severity of the crime Goularte was charged with, he was released without bail. His only conditions were that he keep 100 yards away from children and remain at home. He was also required to wear an electronic monitoring device which he was on the way to get at the time of the shooting.

Velasquez was caught off guard by the news of Goularte’s release and was enraged. He was acquainted with Goularte’s mother who ran a neighborhood daycare where he sent his kids. Although he did not work there, Goularte lived in the house where the daycare was operating and allegedly committed these heinous acts there.

Velasquez pursued Goularte’s car, ramming it with his truck numerous times before opening fire and hitting one of its occupants. Goularte’s step-father was inadvertently shot but his injuries were not life threatening. No other person was harmed in this incident.

The Court’s Decision

All together, Velasquez faces 10 charges. They are as follows

• One count of attempted murder
• One count of shooting a motor vehicle or aircraft
• Three counts of assault with a firearm
• Three counts of assault with a deadly weapon
• One count of wilfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle
• One count of carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony

If found guilty of these charges, Velasquez could very well end up spending decades behind bars.

Rather controversially, the court also refused to grant Velasquez bail. This came even after the revelation that he was acting against a person charged for molesting his child. The judge described Velasquez as “reckless” and deemed it a risk if he were to be allowed to go home.

Public Reaction

Initially, fans and friends were confused and disappointed by the news that a person of Velasquez’s character was capable of chasing and shooting a person. However, when the circumstances became more clear, people were quick to throw their support behind him.

Most of Velasquez’s supporters have not been shy to state their displeasure at the fact that he was not granted bail. Others have called out the court for letting the alleged molester out without bail while choosing to excessively punish Velasquez.

A Go-Fund Me for Velasquez’s defense was also set-up but was soon taken down. When asked to comment, the representatives of the organization said that the fundraiser went against their policy of not allowing money to be raised for the defense of violent crimes.

While the public outcry has been vocal, it has remained peaceful and orderly. Despite that, the judge who denied Velasquez’s bail has requested for additional police protection. Such requests are quite rare in the Santa Monica area and are indicative of the polarizing nature of this case.

What Does This Case Show Us?

Let’s take a look at the case from different sides. Only then could I reach a more balanced conclusion to properly give my take on the whole thing.

From the court’s point of view, it seems apparent that this case is being used as a deterrent to others from taking the law into their own hands. By penalizing a well-known and successful public figure, it may help to set an example to prevent the ordinary person from repeating such reckless acts.

However, the question that should be raised is whether or not this particular incident ought to serve as a warning to not take the law into your own hands. What picture does it paint when an alleged child molestor is out on bail while the father of one of his victim’s is being forced to sit in jail for attempting to seek the justice he feels he was not given?

There is no doubt that Velasquez’s actions were reckless and dangerous nor should they be condoned. At the same time however, it is clear that they are also not deserving of being vilified. After all, he was acting in what he believed to be in the best interest of his family.

Taking the law into your own hands is indeed an offense which should not go unpunished but when said punishment ends up creating another injustice, perhaps it should be reconsidered. It is not fair to equate Velasquez’s actions to that of a vigilante nor can we say that he jumped the gun.

Velasquez did not pursue Goularte from a mere accusation. Goularte was formally charged for his alleged crimes and regardless of whether he ends up being found guilty or not guilty, Velasquez had reason to genuinely believe that Goularte was a child molestor who had targeted one of his kids.

Velasquez allowed Goularte to be handled by the authorities and only acted when it was revealed to him that he had been released without bail. Upon hearing such news, any parent would have an adverse reaction to say the least. It was just unfortunate that Velasquez’s emotion drove him to physical violence.

Although such things should not be an excuse to resort to violence, it is highly unlikely that Velasquez would be convicted for attempted murder. No sensible jury could unanimously decide that Velasquez acted in any way that resembled a cold blooded killer. In fact, he has precedent on his side.

There have been numerous cases in America concerning father’s who had killed the people who molested their children. Unlike Velasquez who is being held without bail for unintentionally injuring a person while targeting the molester, these father’s were not even charged at all.

However, in these cases it should be noted that they did not act in a way that endangered the general public at large.

My Take

Based on what we know about Cain Velasquez’s case so far, I believe that the charge of attempted murder is far too severe. I also believe that it is completely unfair that he is currently behind bars while the alleged molester is allowed to go home.

Velasquez is too well known and easily identifiable to escape the law nor should he have any reason to. To punish him for attempting to harm the person who allegedly molested his child while others in a similar situation were able to walk free is also completely unjust.

This is merely a case of a loving father who felt let down by the system and had gone too far in his attempts to seek justice. The supposed justice of punishing Velasquez for taking the law into his own hands does not outweigh the injustice of him being behind bars while Goularte is at home.

I concede however that Velasquez is not completely blame-free. After all, his actions did injure and put many other innocent people at risk. That being said, it should not be used to label him as a would-be murderer.

As the case develops further, we will be able to better see if Cain Velasquez received the proper justice he deserved or if it was denied from him.