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Rhonda Rosie, a WWE superstar and former UFC champion, has defended Cain Velasquez, who faces attempted murder and other charges related to the shooting this week.
San Jose police say Velázquez is trying to shoot a man who is alleged to have harassed one of Velázquez’s relatives. The retired MMA star has been arrested on a number of charges.
Rosie tweeted Thursday that she would have done the same if she had been in Velázquez’s place.
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Former UFC heavyweight champion Kane Velazquez, second from left, with his lawyer Alexandra Ghazaryan, will appear in court at the Santa Clara County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in San Jose, California. Velázquez was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly shooting a man in Northern California. (Aric Crabb / Bay Area News Group via AP, Pool)
“I would have done the same, if not worse,” she tweeted.
According to police, San Jose and Morgan Hill officers received a call about a man who shot at a vehicle with three passengers inside. The gunman was identified as Velazquez and allegedly shot dead a man who was later transported to hospital with injuries. The report says Velázquez tracked down a woman and another man, who was later identified as Harry Goularte Jr.
Police say Velázquez fired a gun at Goulart, who was recently accused of harassing a close relative of the retired master of mixed martial arts. Gularte was charged with a felony and lewd act against a child on February 25 and was released under surveillance, police said.
Gularte lived in day care run by his mother. According to police, Goularte’s mother was in the vehicle that Velázquez shot at. Authorities said day care had been temporarily closed.
After the arrest of Velázquez, Morgan Hill police found a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol in the suspect’s car with nine bullets loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition, a police report said. There was another cartridge with three bullets in the console, and two .40 caliber cartridges were found in the passenger seat. Police say the gun was legally registered to Velazquez.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Kane Velazquez appears in court in the Santa Clara County Justice Hall on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in San Jose, California (Aric Crabb / Bay Area News Group via AP, Pool)
Former UFC star Kane Velázquez shoots a man who is alleged to be exposed to a relative of the fighter, police say
Police said four shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, and a cartridge case was placed in the vehicle in which the victims were sitting.
The accusation of attempted murder of Velazquez stems from his shooting at Goulart, according to The Mercury News. He also faces charges of shooting at an occupied vehicle, multiple assaults and a weapon charge.
“The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velazquez chose to take the law into his own hands, endangering the public and everyone in the truck,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen told KTVU. “This act of violence also causes more pain and suffering to his family.
Ronda Rausi tweets about Velazquez’s case. (Harry Howe / Getty Images)
Velázquez was a UFC champion, winning the UFC heavyweight title over Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. After losing it in his next fight against Junior dos Santos, he regained the title over dos Santos at UFC 155. Velázquez defended his title twice before losing to Fabrizio Verdum.
Velázquez last fought in the UFC against current champion Francis Nganu in February 2019. Nganu won the battle in 26 seconds.
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After retiring from mixed martial arts, Velazquez was watched in professional wrestling, participating in the WWE and the promotion of Mexican wrestling AAA.