As the 2012 Stanley Cup series gets underway, police are still doling out charges related to the riot in Vancouver after last year's playoff final.
Patrick Judge, a Port Moody resident, is the latest to have charges approved against him by Crown prosecutors. The 25-year-old is facing one count of participating in a riot, one count of break and enter and two counts of mischief.
Judge allegedly threw a newspaper box through the window of a clothing store. He was later observed vandalizing a Mini Cooper parked in the 500-block of W. Georgia Street, before attempting to light a couch on fire.
Later he was allegedly seen committing a break-and-enter at a drug store.
Judge was included among a list of names of people with recently approved charges and police said more names are on the way.
"This isn't over," said Const. Lindsey Houghton, the spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department. "We fully expect more charges to be recommended."
Judge is not the only Tri-City resident to face charges in last year's riot.
A young offender in Coquitlam was charged in April with participating in a riot and mischief, while another was charged with participating in a riot and break and enter. The two cannot be named because they are are young offenders.
Ryan Dickinson, another Coquitlam resident who was on probation at the time, received a 17-month jail sentence for his part in the riot.
Crown also approved charges against a young offender from Port Coquitlam.
Last month the Vancouver Police Department announced that it has surpassed the 500th charge recommended against Stanley Cup rioters.
To date, police have recommended 508 charges against 175 rioters and Crown has officially laid 244 charges against 91 rioters.
While the process has been a lengthy one, Houghton said police must follow proper protocols with their investigation.
"We have to weigh everything and do it the right way," he said. "Certainly, the charges that have been laid are very serious and we are starting to see more people plead guilty."
A campaign involving Facebook ads was also launched last month that police said reaches up to 160,000 viewers a day. The ads appear on Facebook profiles of 15 to 27 year olds who live in the Lower Mainland, Kamloops, Victoria, Nanaimo and Prince George.
Police have also been distributing flyers with photos of unidentified rioters, encouraging the public to come forward and identify the suspects.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
