A convicted Stanley Cup rioter accused of breaching probation testified in her own defence Monday, claiming she had to break curfew to get medication.
Camille Cacnio, who pleaded guilty to stealing pants during the riot and was handed a suspended sentence, was stopped at a roadblock 20 minutes past her 10 p.m. curfew in January.
The officer involved told Vancouver provincial court he pulled her over because he smelled alcohol on her breath.
But Cacnio took the stand Monday and revealed she has been diagnosed with mental health problems as a result of her participation in the riot.
“Her life has changed considerably since the night of the riot,” her lawyer Jason Tarnow told CTV News. “[She was] fired from numerous jobs, bullied and harassed at UBC campus. Had to drop out, effectively.”
Cacnio testified that she was on her way to her cousin’s home in Burnaby to retrieve depression medication the night she was pulled over.
She said she’d suffered an anxiety attack earlier in the evening at a restaurant.
For the first year of her sentence, Cacnio has been ordered to stay in her home from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., but exceptions can be made for medical emergencies or if she has written permission from her probation officer.
She was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.
Cacnio did not receive jail time, however, after pleading guilty last year to stealing two pairs of men’s pants and a bowtie from Black & Lee formalwear during the riot.
Vancouver police allege 11 convicted rioters have ignored court orders over curfews, drinking and entering Vancouver’s downtown core.
A judge will hand down a decision in Cacnio’s trial within a month.
