Former UFC champion & WWE star Cain Velasquez released from prison on parole
(Courtesy : UFC)
Velasquez was released on parole from California state prison on Sunday.
Cain Velasquez has been released on parole from a California prison, marking the latest chapter in a legal saga that has unfolded over the past four years.
According to the California Department of Corrections, the former UFC heavyweight champion, 43, was released from a prison in Soledad on Sunday, Feb. 15. His release comes after serving time related to a 2022 shooting incident that drew national attention.
Velasquez had pleaded no-contest in 2024 to charges of assault with a firearm, attempted second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, along with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury.
Cain Velasquez parole release and sentence details
Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2025. The conviction stemmed from a 2022 incident in which he chased down and shot at a man accused of child molestation.
In a statement confirming his release, the California Department of Corrections said, “He received 1,283 days of pre-sentence credit for time served while awaiting sentencing and was eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated.”
The department added, “He was released to parole supervision on Feb. 15, 2026, after serving his full sentence as defined by law.”
At the time of sentencing, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office described the events in stark terms. “Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison today for a vigilante shooting spree that wounded an unintended target and sprayed bullets near a school crowded with children, teachers and parents,” the office wrote in a March 2025 press release.
Authorities said Velasquez entered a “high-speed chase” in San Juan, California, firing his registered .40 handgun “multiple times at a truck carrying three people.”
2022 shooting incident
According to prosecutors, “Velasquez began shooting at the victims at a Morgan Hill intersection.” The release continued, “As they tried to flee, he rammed their vehicle and fired more rounds at them, striking the driver in the arm and right flank, severing his brachial artery, as they drove past the Charter School of Morgan Hill.”
The intended target was a daycare worker accused of repeatedly molesting Velasquez’s 4-year-old son, as reported by The New York Times, KGO-TV and ESPN.
However, Velasquez ended up shooting the daycare worker’s 63-year-old male relative, who survived his injuries. He was later arrested by Morgan Hill police following the incident.
A March 2022 release from the District Attorney’s Office stated that the original target, Harry Goularte, had been arraigned three days before the shooting on felony child molestation charges. He had been released from custody “on the supervised own recognizance release program with GPS monitoring over the District Attorney’s objections.”
Goularte has pleaded not guilty, and his case remains ongoing. Court records indicate his next hearing, a trial setting conference which is scheduled for April 15, when a trial date will be determined.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen addressed Velasquez’s actions directly, saying, “One man’s decision to take the law into his own hands left an innocent man wounded and endangered schoolchildren, teachers, and many others in our community.”
He added, “If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge.”
Velasquez’s release closes one legal chapter, though the broader case connected to the allegations remains unresolved.
Why was Cain Velasquez sentenced to prison?
He was sentenced to five years in March 2025 for charges including assault with a firearm and attempted second-degree murder stemming from a 2022 shooting incident.
When was Cain Velasquez released on parole?
He was released on parole supervision on Feb. 15, 2026, after receiving pre-sentence credit and serving his sentence as defined by law.
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