KEY POINTS

  • Cain Velasquez will remain in jail after a judge ruled against him being set free on bail
  • Velasquez's next hearing will be on April 14
  • UFC fighters have since joined in on the "Free Cain" movement in support of Velasquez

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been denied bail after a Santa Clara County judge declared the ruling due to public safety concerns.

CBS San Francisco reported that the judge refused the request of Velasquez’s attorney Mark Geragos to set bail and said that the “risk is too great” to both the public and the family of the man he intended to shoot, Harry Goularte.

“I think the judge made her comments very clear that Mr. Velasquez, his conduct in this case, endangered a great number of people, and he poses a serious risk of danger to the public and to the specific victim in this case,” said Santa Clara County assistant district attorney Angela Bernhard of the ruling as quoted by CBS San Francisco.

Velasquez was arrested on February 28 after reports surfaced that he had fired three shots at a vehicle containing Goularte, his mother, and his stepfather Paul Bender.

Police reports revealed that the one-time UFC heavyweight king chased the vehicle for about 11 miles before ramming into it and firing three shots that wounded Bender.

Goularte was believed to be the target of Velasquez’s actions after the former was released on no bail after being charged of having lewd acts with a child, the child being one of the latter’s relatives.

Following his arrest, a copy of criminal complaints that were filed against Velasquez was made public and included one count of attempted murder, the heaviest of the charges levied against him.

If found guilty, the 39-year-old could face a minimum of 20 years to life in prison according to the state’s penal code.

Debates raged across social media about whether Velasquez was in the right for taking matters into his own hands, with the hashtag “Free Cain” trending on multiple platforms.

Many of the former prizefighter’s colleagues chimed in on the situation since the movement began and fighters like Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Colby Covington have made their thoughts known.

“We plan on vindicating Cain. We plan on getting Cain back to his family,” Geragos said after the hearing.

With the judge ruling to not allow Velasquez to go free on bail, he will be behind bars until his April 14 hearing as reported by SF Gate.

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