Charges approved against 229 people accused in Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver

VANCOUVER – Two years after a riot in Vancouver made international headlines, charges have been approved against 229 people while 56 accused rioters are still waiting to learn if they’ll be charged.

B.C.’s Criminal Justice Branch says that so far, police have recommended charges against a total of 325 people and that charges were not approved against 40 of them.

To date, 149 people suspected of participating in the riot have entered guilty pleas and 102 of them have received sentences ranging from discharges to more than a year in jail.

Only one person, a 26-year-old man, has been convicted after online video footage showed him using a street barricade to smash a storefront window during a rampage in the June 2011 riot.

Trials are currently scheduled for 15 people accused in the riot that saw people setting cars on fire, smashing windows and looting stores after the Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins.

In March, the B.C. Court of Appeal rejected a bid by the Crown to get tougher sentences for two men — one of whom was handed a 60-day jail sentence and 18 months probation and while the other received a 90-day sentence to be served on weekends.