Cain Velasquez is heading home for the first time in nearly a year after a judge granted him bail on Tuesday during his pre-trial hearing.
MMA Junkie, who was on site for the second day of Velasquez’s pre-trial hearing, was among the first to report the news.
Judge Arthur Bocanegra granted Velasquez $1 million bail on Tuesday, citing his empty criminal history, and called the attempted murder investigation an “isolated incident”. He will return to his family immediately following today’s hearing.
Velasquez still faces 20 years in prison for an attempted murder charge stemming from a high-speed chase with accused child molester Harry Goularte. He also faces other firearm-related charges.
Velasquez was arrested in February after shooting at Goularte from his vehicle in the San Jose, CA area. He instead hit Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, who suffered a minor gunshot wound as a result of the incident.
Cain Velasquez Granted Bail In Attempted Murder Case
Here’s what MMA Twitter had to say about the Velasquez news.
Velasquez’s attorney Mark Geragos had pursued bail three times this year, being denied all three times. He also targeted the Court of Appeal for bail before Bocanegra’s ruling.
The terms of bail include monitoring his location and compliance with other terms. Velasquez, a former UFC heavyweight champion, has received support from the MMA community for months since his arrest.
Goularte isn’t in custody and is set to appear in the courtroom for his child molestation case next week. He’s accused of molesting Velasquez’s young son at a daycare center.
Velasquez announced his retirement from MMA in 2019 following a loss to Francis Ngannou.
We’ll continue to bring you the latest on Velasquez’s trial.
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