The pre-trial hearing for former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was delayed Monday, as many in the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice courtroom expected.
Velasquez, 40, made his second appearance in court in less than one week, as he awaits prosecution and defense lawyers to digest a recent discovery order made by a judge in San Jose, Calif.
Monday, the defense claimed insufficient time to sift through the information that is now readily available to them, while also adjusting to what they will not be permitted to obtain. As a result, a pre-trial hearing was shifted back to Nov. 7.
A judge ruled Thursday the district attorney’s office must allow certain portions of discovery from the ongoing felony case of accused molester Harry Goularte to be available for Velasquez case purposes. At the same time, the judge also denied some of the defense’s requests for other pieces of information.
While video cameras have seldom been permitted to film the court proceedings during this case, NBC Bay Area captured a brief video Monday of Velasquez as he chatted with attorneys Mark Geragos and Renee Hessling.
“The fact that our client is sitting in jail with no bail and the alleged predator is out and apparently free to go about his business, I don’t know anybody either in or outside the legal system who thinks that makes any sense,” Geragos told reporters outside the courtroom.
Geragos likely made the reference in regards to a recent decision by a Santa Clara county judge, who allowed Goularte to return to work as a construction worker.
.#cainvelasquez back in court today.
Preliminary hearing set for Nov. 7. pic.twitter.com/u2E7gSjc3Z— Damian Trujillo (@newsdamian) October 17, 2022
Velasquez, who has been imprisoned for nearly eight months, as he faces a handful of charges including attempted murder for allegedly shooting at a car carrying Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s four-year-old son, and striking Goularte’s stepfather in the arm with a bullet.
Meanwhile, Goularte awaits a pre-trial hearing of his own scheduled for Nov. 14. He is out on bail, facing one felony charge of lewd acts with a child.
Additionally, a civil lawsuit filed by Velasquez’s family against Goularte, as well as Goularte’s family members and their businesses, is set to resume in March.
