The first Stanley Cup rioter to offer a public apology outside court has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Fernando Bernabe pleaded guilty to participating in a riot last year in Vancouver provincial court, then told reporters he regretted joining the mob violence of June 15, 2011.
“I know what I did was wrong so I can’t fight it,” the Burnaby resident said. “It was an in-the-moment kind of thing. Everyone was sad that the Canucks lost, but it shouldn’t have happened.”
Bernabe was taken into custody Monday to begin his sentence, which will be served on weekends only going forward. He was also given nine months' probation and ordered to serve 75 hours of community service.
At the time of the riot, the young man worked for an insurance company. He was forced to give up the job because of the criminal proceedings against him, but said he hopes to go back to school for culinary arts.
Police said Bernabe smashed the windshield of a Hummer in downtown Vancouver. He maintains he was too drunk to remember what he did, but said he’s still sorry.
More than 100 people have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced for their part in damaging and looting stores, torching cars and rampaging through the downtown core.
