(Editor’s note: Story updated Monday at 10:25 p.m. ET to reflect info about from Velasquez’s second hearing Monday with quotes from Judge Bocanegra)
Out on bail but still in the thick of continuous legal battles, Cain Velasquez has requested special permission to return to professional wrestling.
Velasquez appeared at an arraignment Monday in a Santa Clara (Calif.) County court. It was the first hearing to which he’s been able to wear street clothes rather than a jail jumpsuit after he was released on bail Nov. 8.
Velasquez pleaded not guilty to trial charges and waived his right to a speedy trial. His next hearing will be Dec. 28, at which he is expected to identify counsel representing him ahead of trial.
In addition to typical arraignment procedures, Velasquez and attorney Ed Sousa went before Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya and motioned for the court to permit him to compete at a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide professional wrestling event Dec. 3 in Arizona.
Currently, Velasquez has travel restrictions among a list of other bail release stipulations. Velasquez’s legal team indicated he would still partake in GPS monitoring and even would pay fees for police to accompany him on the trip.
Leigh Frazier, a district attorney representative present at Monday’s hearing objected to Velasquez’s request and asked the hearing be rescheduled for later this month when lead prosecutor Aaron French, who was absent from Monday’s hearing, is available.
Sousa rebutted that the decision would not be able to wait that long because the wrestling promotion needs to advertise the event. According to the promotion’s website, the event takes place at Mullett Arena in Tempe, where Velasquez attended the University of Arizona (ASU) and wrestled for the college.
Cain Velasquez appears for his arraignment at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. Velasquez, the former UFC champion based out of San Jose, was charged with shooting at a man accused of molesting his child. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group via AP, Pool) ORG XMIT: CAJOS102
Due to the special circumstances of the situation, Nishigaya redirected the request to Arthur Bocanegra, a judge more familiar with the circumstances of the Velasquez case and the same one who granted Velasquez bail.
While Bocanegra will formally rule on the issue Tuesday, he indicated in an impromptu hearing Monday he’ll permit Velasquez’s travel to Arizona by plane. This, despite repeated objection from Frazier, who stated the Goularte family have moved to stay in a hotel out of fear of Velasquez, and the temporary pause of his home confinement would escalate that.
“We never know what can or cannot happen,” Bocanegra said, according to a court document acquired by MMA Junkie. “Obviously, there has been a passage of time. Mr. Velasquez has been out of custody. I have received no information that would cause the Court concern. I continue to find that he’s not a flight risk, No. 1. And if I allowed him to go to Arizona, I don’t believe he would be a danger to any of the alleged victims in Arizona.”
“So for those reasons, I am going to over the People’s objection, and also over your objection not having Mr. French here.”
Specific details of special travel allowance circumstances from pre-trial services were the only things standing between Bocanegra and an approval, so the judge tabled the matter until Tuesday.
Velasquez, 40, currently faces seven charges, including attempted murder, after he allegedly chased and shot at Harry Goularte, a man accused of molestation of Velasquez’s then 4-year-old son.
Goularte also is out on bail. He faces one felony charge of lewd acts with a child. In October, Goularte was permitted by the court to return to work as a construction worker. He also has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a pre-trial hearing in January.
Velasquez competed for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide following the conclusion of his MMA career in 2019. It preceded a stint in WWE, which featured a feud with former UFC opponent Brock Lesnar. He departed WWE in 2020. In late 2021, Velasquez returned to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.
