TWO in the latest batch of 40 suspected rioters the Vancouver Police Department would like to charge are North Vancouver residents.
The VPD announced 168 recommended charges against 40 people for Crown counsel to consider on Friday Dec. 21, relating to the June 2011 Stanley Cup riot that saw millions of dollars of damage done in downtown Vancouver.
Among them was a 27-year-old North Vancouver man who police say was caught on camera breaking into a business and attempting to flip over a marked police car.
Police collected more than 6,000 hours of video footage from witnesses and hired a U.S. firm to comb over every frame looking to ID suspected rioters. Despite wearing a mask, investigators were able to tag the North Vancouver man and he may soon face charges of participating in a riot, break and enter, mischief and disguise with intent.
Police did not release details in the case of the other North Vancouver resident.
Crown counsel must now review the collected evidence for each case before deciding whether to go ahead with criminal charges.
In total, 20 of the 315 accused rioters have come from the North Shore. Several of them have already pleaded guilty and faced punishment ranging from jail time to house arrest.
"It's been over 18 months, and we haven't forgotten our commitment we made to the victims and the residents of our community," said Insp. Laurence Rankin of VPD's integrated riot investigation team. "I hope that news of more rioters facing charges brings a small measure of comfort to victims of the riot."
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