A judge has denied a request for former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s emails to be subpoenaed.
At a hearing Wednesday in Santa Clara County (Calif.), Judge Griffin Bonini ruled there was no proven basis for Harry Goularte’s legal team’s request to subpoena the Velasquezes’ emails.
Goularte is the man accused of molesting Velasquez’s young son at a daycare. The hearing Wednesday was part of Goularte’s ongoing court proceedings as he faces one felony charge of lewd acts with a minor.
Judge Bonini made this request after hearing from Goularte’s attorney Stephen Defilippis, Velasquez’s attorney Renee Hessling, and Yahoo attorney Sheri Pan. Goularte attended the hearing virtually.
Defilippis said his subpoena sought email communications from Michelle Velasquez, Cain Velasquez, and the Department of Social Services, as well as a police deputy with the last name Hessling (the same name as Velasquez’s laywer), and any other Santa Clara county sheriff’s department deputies that they communicated with.
Pan motioned a request to quash the Yahoo emails, saying Defillipis’ subpoena had a “complete deficient showing of good cause” and questioned if the defendants received proper notice of the request. Hessling backed Pan on both fronts.
Defillipis responded with accusations that the detective named Hessling attended previous legal hearings and wandered throughout the courthouse, and said Michelle Velasquez spoke with another deputy about the alleged crime.
“I don’t know what’s contained in the emails and there might be absolutely nothing,” Defillipis said. “I believe that there must be because there were all these communications that occurred. There were communications with detective Hessling. There were communications with another deputy. There were communications with DSS. I’m just asking for communications that related to this particular case. I don’t want to know if one of them had a conversation with their friend or sent an email to their employer.”
Pan then used Deflippis’ own words against him.
“My friend on the other side has now explicitly said, quote: ‘I don’t know what is contained in the emails.’ I think based on that, it’s pretty clear this is a fishing expedition.”
Judge Bonini then approved the motion to quash the subpoena, but said if Defilippis provided more specific justification, the request could be revisited.
“They do not warrant disclosure, at least at this stage,” Bonini said. “The defendant has failed to establish the requisite justification. I don’t think the motion advises on exactly what evidence is expected to be there or what evidence will be admissible at trial, beyond speculative conclusions.”
What’s next?
Goularte’s case will proceed to the trial setting stages. A trial date was previously set, but vacated due to the subpoena issues. A new setting is set for Nov. 19, during which the parties will determine a new trial start date.
Velasquez is currently serving time for attempted murder and other felony charges for shooting a gun at Goularte and his family during a high-speed chase in February 2022. He pleaded no contest to charges. He will be eligible for parole in March 2026. Restitution has yet to be determined.
Civil lawsuits filed by both the Velasquez and Goularte families are ongoing.
