Youth charged

 

The police are asking the public to help identify more Stanley Cup rioters.

 
 
 
 
Criminal charges keep coming from the Stanley Cup riot that took place in June.
 

Criminal charges keep coming from the Stanley Cup riot that took place in June.

Photograph by: Katherine Hall photo , for Langley Advance

Vancouver police are appealing to the public to identify more Stanley Cup rioters as more charges were announced, including against a Langley teen.

Charges have also been laid against two other males: Eric Hodson, 18, of Surrey for participating in a riot and mischief, and a 17-year-old Langley youth for participating in a riot and break and enter.

Vancouver police have recommended 280 charges against 100 suspects involved in the riots. So far, Yeo said, 116 charges have been approved against 43 suspects by Crown Counsel.

The police have also made an appeal to identify rioters who viciously attacked Robert Mackay as he tried to prevent a horde of rioters from looting The Bay on the night of June 15, 2011.

Charged with assaulting Mackay are three Surrey residents - Tanner Bedow, 25, who is also facing charges of participating in a riot and break and enter and Armando Garcia, 19, and Brandon Wise, 18, both of whom are charged with participating in a riot.

"It was an appalling attack," said Insp. Les Yeo, in charge of the Integrated Riot Investigation Team.

Police released a video <http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Video+Stanley+riot+victim+assaulted/6080697/story.html> of Mackay facing down hundreds of rioters who were breaking the store's windows before being swarmed by nine or so males who knocked him to the ground, kicked and pepper-sprayed him before two youths came to his aid.

"That night many of you saw acts of bravery and courage by Good Samaritans. Robert Mackay was one of those people," Yeo said.

He said officers who have viewed thousands of hours of video and watched hundreds of criminal acts "were sickened by what they watched as Robert Mackay was swarmed and beaten and pepper-sprayed as he lay on the ground."

In the video, Mackay can be seen appealing to the mob not to attack the store. He then confronts one male who appears to be holding a long metal bar that he uses to strike the windows.

Mackay, a large burly man, takes the bar from him and carries it across his chest in both hands using it to push the male and other rioters back.

He succeeds in moving them off the pavement when the crowd surges around behind him and males begin pummelling him in the head. He goes to the ground under a barrage of kicks and punches.

As he's lying on the ground being assaulted, the video shows 18-year-old Dean Seskin struggling to push his way through the assailants. Seskin reaches Mackay and bends over him, spreading out his arms to protect him. Another male, Chris McLelland, also arrives and the pair shield Mackay from further blows.

Yeo said three males suspected of assaulting Mackay have been charged, but "I won't be satisfied until the other six have been identified and neither will Robert."

"We need the public's help in identifying those six," Yeo said.

"Go to our website: they may be a co-worker, your neighbour or your classmate. We need your help in bringing these people to justice for their cowardly and gutless acts."

Mackay, who attended the news conference at police headquarters, told reporters that seeing the video of the attack was "tough to watch."

"I think all the rioters need to be held accountable for what they did that night. Vancouver's a special city and you never really want to see anything like that happen, right?" said Mackay, a native of Ontario who has lived in Vancouver for 10 years.

He said the rioters should come forward and admit to what they did and deal with the consequences so they could be forgiven and "move forward."

Asked why he intervened, Mackay said he just walked up to the windows "to see what was going on and I saw one person trying to attack the Bay."

"I threw all caution to the side and jumped him. I just reacted, I wasn't thinking, I let my emotions take over," he said.

"I was feeling rage. I was really angry that this was happening," said Mackay.

"But as far as being attacked I didn't feel anything until the next day, when I was more shocked."

He suffered bruised ribs from being kicked and it took more than three days for the effects of the pepper-spray to wear off, he said.

Asked if he would do the same thing again, Mackay said: "Who knows. I think you have to be put in that position to see how you react. You wouldn't do that premeditated."

The police have also launched a new website www.riot2011.vpd.ca where photographs of suspects, including those who attacked Mackay, can be viewed.

Click here to read more stories from the Vancouver Sun: www.vancouversun.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Criminal charges keep coming from the Stanley Cup riot that took place in June.
 

Criminal charges keep coming from the Stanley Cup riot that took place in June.

Photograph by: Katherine Hall photo, for Langley Advance

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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