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VPD request more charges against 20 suspected rioters

Latest requests bring total who could face charges so far to 100 for roles in Vancouver's Stanley Cup riot.
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Rioters flipped cars and some were set alight during the June 15 Stanley Cup riot.

Vancouver Police are recommending 63 new charges against 20 more suspected rioters who ran amok during the the 2011 Stanley Cup riot last June.

Among them are more alleged rioters from Surrey and other parts of the Lower Mainland.

The announcement brings the total number of suspects the VPD wants charged to 100.

Twenty-six of them are from Surrey, 18 are from Vancouver, 17 are from Burnaby, six are from Maple Ridge, four are from North Vancouver and three or fewer hail from other Lower Mainland cities, Vancouver Island or elsewhere.

The VPD said 82 per cent of suspects are from outside Vancouver, while 18 per cent live in the city.

The force listed three examples of the new suspects who may be charged.

One of them, a 15-year-old from Surrey, is accused of helping flip a parked car, stealing something from its trunk, pushing over a portable toilet, and later smashing a police car with a metal fence connector.

Police also say a Surrey 19-year-old who attends university in Kelowna helped flip a parked truck and flicked lit cigarettes at the pool of gas leaking from it – all of which was caught on video.

The truck didn't explode and the VPD says the young man, who has no criminal record, contacted investigators before they could arrest him.

The VPD also showcased a 45-year-old man Vancouver man they say tried to smash the windows of a bank with a hockey stick before punching various random people in the head.

Police say the same man, who has a long criminal record, later helped overturn a parked car.

All suspects are accused by police of participating in a riot, while mischief or break-and-enter are the next most common charges being requested.

The 85 men and 15 women have an average age of 21, and 20 were young offenders under age 18 at the time of the riot.

The men range in age from 15 to 52, while females range from 17 to 27.

Crown counsel has so far approved 78 charges against 30 riot suspects, all of whom either turned themselves in or have been arrested.

Rioters torched police cars and other vehicles and looted stores in downtown Vancouver June 15 after the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Cup final.

Integrated Riot Investigation Team Insp. Les Yeo called the list of the "first 100" suspects a significant milestone, adding more are expected.

"The victims haven't forgotten and neither have we."