Cain Velasquez, former UFC heavyweight champion, released from prison after shooting at man accused of molesting his son; all about the 2022 case and shooting spree

Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion, has been released on parole from a California prison. The 43-year-old was released from a prison in Soledad on Sunday, February 15, 2026. He was granted parole after pleading no contest to charges of assault with a firearm, attempted second-degree murder, and assault with a deadly weapon with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury in 2024, PEOPLE reported, citing the California Department of Corrections.

“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 of Corrections confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement. “He was released to parole supervision on Feb. 15, 2026, after serving his full sentence as defined by law.”

Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison

Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2025 in connection to a 2022 shooting incident where he chased down and shot at a man accused of child molestation.

Velasquez went on a shooting spree

In 2025, Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison for a vigilante shooting spree that wounded an unintended target in 2022, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office wrote in a press release at the time, as quoted by PEOPLE.

“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 press release at the time read.

The release also revealed that the athlete entered a 11-mile “high-speed chase” in San Juan, Calif., while firing his registration .40 handgun “multiple times at a truck carrying three people."

According to The New York Times, KGO-TV, and ESPN, Velasquez chased a daycare worker who was accused of repeatedly molesting his 4-year-old son. “Velasquez began shooting at the victims at a Morgan Hill intersection,” the D.A. 's Office continued in the March 2025 release.

“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 March 2022 press release from the D.A. 's Office suggested Velasquez shot the daycare worker's 63-year-old male relative, who survived his injuries, and was later arrested by Morgan Hill police.

The release further stated that the target, Harry Goularte, had been arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court three days before the incident on felony charges of child molestation. According to the District Attorney's Office, he had been released from custody “on the supervised own recognizance release program with GPS monitoring over the District Attorney’s objections,” as quoted by PEOPLE.

Harry Goularte pleaded not guilty

Goularte pleaded not guilty, and his case remains ongoing, PEOPLE reported, citing The New York Times and The Mercury News. According to court records, the next hearing is a trial setting conference on April 15, when his trial date will be scheduled.