Both Crown and defence lawyers agree that a Mission man who participated in the Stanley Cup riot should serve jail time, given that he was on bail at the time of his offence.
But in his sentencing hearing submission on Friday in Vancouver provincial court, lawyer Vincent Michaels said his client, Bradley James Peters, deserves some acknowledgment of the transformation he has made in his life in the last two years.
Michaels suggested that Peters, 21, should be sentenced to a four-month jail term, while Crown lawyer Daniel Porte recommended 12 months in prison.
Peters, who was born and raised in Abbotsford, previously pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a riot. Three counts of mischief were stayed.
Evidence presented in court included several video clips of Peters’ participation in the riot that followed the Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup final on June 15, 2011.
Peters repeatedly kicked the glass doors of the Canada Post headquarters on West Georgia Street in an attempt to smash them, as police in riot gear lined the street a few feet away.
He was then among dozens of people who damaged two Vancouver Police cars and two smart cars in a parking lot.
Peters did not turn himself in to police, but was identified through photos that were posted on Facebook. The court heard that, just four days before the riot, Peters had been arrested for allegedly breaching bail conditions that were set following an assault charge.
He spent two days in jail after allegedly consuming alcohol, contrary to his conditions, and was released two days before the riot.
Michaels acknowledged that his client made some bad decisions and should be penalized, but he said the offences occurred at a time when Peters was “an angry and unfocused individual” following his parents’ separation.
He has not been in trouble with the law since the riot and now works at two full-time jobs – in construction as a carpenter during the day, and as a caregiver four nights a week for a 12-year-old boy with severe autism.
Michaels said Peters, who grew up in a devout Christian family, has also returned to his religious roots and is now a “peaceful, calm, focused person” and a productive member of society.
A date for the judge’s decision on Peters’ sentence has not yet been set.
Another local man, Luke Patillo of Abbotsford, also 21, was sentenced in August to a 45-day intermittent jail term – to be served on weekends – for his role in the riot. Patillo did not have a prior criminal record.
