Charges formalized for 25 in hockey riot

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Criminal charges have been formalized for 25 people charged with participating in rioting after Vancouver's hockey loss in June, prosecutors said.

Police Inspector Les Yeo said in a release 24 Canadians and one man from Seattle face 61 charges including arson, theft, rioting and break-and-enter, The (Vancouver) Province reported.

The city core erupted into violence June 15 when the Vancouver Canucks were shutout in the NHL Stanley Cup championship 4-0 in Game 7 by the Boston Bruins.

Yeo said hundreds more will eventually be charged. Police said processing was under way on 163 charges against 60 people, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.

The slowness of formally charging people stems from the amount of evidence police and prosecutors have had to pore over. Police said they had more than 30 terabytes of riot-related pictures and videos, or the equivalent of 7,500 DVDs, the Vancouver Sun reported.

In October, Yeo said 65 males and 14 females had turned themselves in, but as many as 700 others will be investigated during the next two years.

As for potential sentences, those convicted of arson could face 14 years in prison, while rioting has a maximum sentence of 10 years, The Province said.