The Vancouver Police Department is recommending 163 charges against 60 suspects in the Stanley Cup riot that tore through downtown Vancouver almost five months ago.
Police Chief Jim Chu announced the charges, including counts of assault, participating in a riot, mischief and break-and-enter, at a news conference Monday morning at VPD headquarters.
"On the night of June 15, thousands of people committed criminal acts, destroying property, stealing property and assaulting those who got in their way," Chu said. "It became, by many measures, the largest crime spree in the history of B.C."
Chu assured that the group of 50 men and 10 women represents only the first wave of suspects who will eventually be charged in connection with the mayhem that followed Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, causing millions of dollars in property damage.
The VPD has said that as many as 700 people could ultimately face charges, and that the investigation could take up to two years to complete.
Chu again defended the length of the Integrated Riot Investigation Team's probe Monday, arguing that a vigorous investigation is required to ensure each suspect faces the most serious charges possible.
"There have been those who told us that our decision to be thorough was wrong. They urged us to rush cases to court," Chu said. "We believe the community supports the independence of the police… to conduct thorough investigations, not cut corners."
Twenty-one suspects, or more than a third of those facing charges, are Surrey residents. Another 12 are from Vancouver, nine are from Burnaby and four are from Maple Ridge. One suspect hails from Seattle, Wash.
The youngest suspect is a 16-year-old boy, and the oldest is a 52-year-old man. The average suspect age is 21. The most charges being recommended against a single individual is 10.
None of the 60 suspects' names were released, but CTV News has learned that water polo player Nathan Kotylak, shown in photographs allegedly trying to start a police car on fire, is among those who could face charges.
Police did offer details about a handful of other cases.
Chu first described the case of a 21-year-old Vancouver Island man who turned himself in to police to apologize for damaging a car during the melee.
Investigators ran his descriptors through a video database and, in a process that took less than 20 minutes, were able to find evidence of several other crimes.
The suspect is believed to have damaged a total of six vehicles, including an unmarked police car, in a two-block radius, and committed break-and-enters at a coffee shop, clothing store and department store.
Another 21-year-old from Burnaby, B.C. was identified by blood left at the scene of a break-and-enter at a sporting goods store on Robson St.
"His fate was sealed by DNA left at the scene," Chu said. "This man is known to police and has a previous criminal history of trafficking drugs and crimes of violence."
Police say corroborating video evidence also shows the suspect punching a random victim in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious, then attempting to hide his face as he runs into another store.
More than 15,000 criminal acts have been tagged in the department's database, which was compiled using roughly 5,000 hours of video footage.
A total of 79 riot suspects, 65 men and 14 women, had turned themselves into police as of mid-October.
The Riot2011.vpd.ca website was set up so the public could help investigators identify suspects. Of the 101 pictures posted on the site, 42 have been identified. More than 600 tips have poured in.
