Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is scheduled to appear in court on September 9th in Santa Clara County, California, for his attempted murder trial.
A trial date was set for Wednesday by Judge Elizabeth Peterson, and Mr. Velasquez appeared in court with his attorney, Renee Hesling.
At the latest hearing, Hessling asked for another proceeding, but prosecutor Aaron French, representing the district attorney's office, complained that the trial setting had already been postponed multiple times and asked for more. opposed the delay. The continuation of the trial setting was granted in February as the defense was still waiting on a request for subpoenas containing records from the UFC.
Hessling said Wednesday that the subpoena evidence obtained is still incomplete and more time is needed before a trial date is set.
In the end, Peterson sided with prosecutors and set a trial date for September. Velasquez faces a series of charges related to his March 2022 arrest.
Velasquez, 41, was arrested after allegedly leading a car carrying Harry Gularte, a man accused of sexually abusing his son at a daycare center owned by Gularte's mother, at high speed. Ta. Velasquez allegedly fired several shots into the vehicle, and Gularte's stepfather, Paul Bender, was struck by bullets but suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Gularte, who was released on bail against prosecutors' recommendations prior to the car chase, faces other charges, including one count of indecent acts against a child, but his trial date has not yet been set.
The next key date in Velasquez's case is scheduled for June 26th for a pretrial hearing, with motions required to be filed by August 12th and completed by August 26th. Witness lists for the prosecution and defense must be submitted by September at the latest. 4. The trial is scheduled to begin on September 9th.
At a previous hearing in February, French opposed further delays in setting a trial date, but said discussions continued between the prosecution and defense over possible solutions, including a plea deal. . No plea agreement was reached at this time, so a trial date was set for September.
Velasquez faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, and faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
Mr. Velasquez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
