Robert Snelgrove apologizes in writing for looting Sears during Stanley Cup riot

More than a year after a mob of drunken louts (and loutettes) trashed downtown Vancouver following the Canucks' Stanley Cup loss, city residents are keeping score as dozens, and possibly hundreds, of rioters start working their way through the court system.

So far, less than a handful have been convicted and Vancouverites are scrutinizing each sentence carefully, looking for a sign whether judges will follow through on promises by B.C. Premier Christy Clark that the rioters won't be coddled.

Only two have been sentenced to jail, including one young man with no previous record who got a month for trying unsuccessfully to break a window and helped rock a car. Another man, who did have a rap sheet, got 16 months for smashing a window and trashing a police car.

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The sentence handed 25-year-old Robert Snelgrove hasn't helped reveal a pattern.

Snelgrove, after being caught on video, confessed to looting the downtown Sears department store of $150 in beauty products. He turned himself in a few days after the June 15, 2011 riot.

Last week, he was sentenced to five months house arrest at his parents' suburban home, plus 150 hours of community service.

Provincial Court Judge Greg Rideout said the fact Snelgrove confessed, returned looted skin-care products and had no previous record at the time of the riot were among the reasons for a non-custodial sentence.

Snelgrove had also faced harassment since his name and photo were posted on a riot website, and his illegal shopping spree was at the lower end of the criminal activity taking place that night, the judge found.

But he noted that since the riot, Snelgrove had been convicted of assault with a weapon for hurling a beer bottle at an ex-boyfriend in September 2011, and had also breached court-ordered restrictions last December.

Still, Rideout decided not to jail Snelgrove.

"Looking at you, time at (Fraser regional correction centre) would be tough time," he told Snelgrove, according to the Vancouver Province.

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But no sooner had he handed down the sentence, Rideout was second-guessing himself. He briefly considered reducing the number of hours of community service Snelgrove would have to complete.

He was concerned they would become a yardstick for judges in other riot cases and create an excessive burden for corrections officers who supervise the program, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Snelgrove told Rideout he was "really sorry" during his sentencing hearing last week and was back in court Monday to hand in a written official apology the judge had demanded.

He declined to read out the five-paragraph expression of contrition, either in court or in front of reporters outside, leaving it to his lawyer to do.

"It was never my intention to disgrace this city," Snelgrove wrote in his letter, adding he is deeply sorry for his behaviour, according to the Sun.

"I sincerely hope that others who were involved in criminal activity on the night of the riot will also realize that the very best way to make amends to the people of this city is to take responsibility for your own actions."

But in an interview with Sun News television last year before he was charged, Snelgrove seemed to lay off some of the blame on alcohol and on police.

In a refrain that's become familiar since the riot, Snelgrove said he'd had too much to drink and got caught up in the excitement as those around him ran amok.

"I was just not myself," he said. "I was just watching everyone going for all the stuff in Sears ... I thought, why shouldn't I too, right? It was a war zone downtown. I didn't really think stealing was bad."

Snelgrove also blamed the police for allowing too many people to congregate downtown.

"I think a riot was definitely imminent. That many people in that small area, bad things are bound to happen."