Third Stanley Cup rioter off to jail, as many others await their day in court
July 23, 2012 - 10:59 AM
VANCOUVER - A 23-year-old Burnaby man spent the weekend in jail as he began serving a seven month jail term for his part in last year's Stanley Cup riot in downtown Vancouver.
Sean Yates pleaded guilty in Vancouver provincial court to participating in a riot and assaulting a police officer, and was sentenced Friday, becoming the third person sent to jail for the melee.
Charges were laid after Yates was spotted in the crowd that set fires outside the main Canada Post office and looted the downtown location of The Bay department store on June 15, 2011, following Vancouver's loss in the Stanley Cup final.
Yates has also been placed on probation for one year and must pay a $250 victim surcharge fee.
In the year since the riot, Crown prosecutors have approved 301 charges against 114 people, with Yates and two others sent to jail, while a fourth man is serving a conditional sentence under house arrest.
Police say more charges will be laid and have recommended a total of 674 counts against 225 people, with the first riot trials not due to begin until February 2013, at the earliest.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012