Vasilios Makris, Stanley Cup rioter, gets 8 months in jail

A Stanley Cup rioter a judge characterized as having a frantic commitment to the mayhem has been sentenced to eight months in jail.

Vasilios Makris, 29, pleaded guilty to participating in a riot and assault earlier this month.

Makris is a first time offender with a history of volunteer work, plenty of character references and no history of drug or alcohol abuse. Makris has also expressed remorse over his actions the night of the riot and apologized to the man he assaulted.

His lawyer argued Makris was incredibly drunk the night of the riot having ingested well over a dozen beer and 14 oz. of vodka and asked for either a conditional sentence of two years or 30 to 90 days in prison.

But B.C. Provincial Court Judge W. J. Kitchen called Makriss case the most serious riot case so far.

Makris was fully involved in the very considerable violence that was occurring and he was not in any way doing anything to stop it, Kitchen wrote in his reasons for sentence. His involvement simply further contributed to the mayhem and chaos that was occurring.

Makris was interviewed by a news reporter the night of riot. When asked what he thought about the police action, Makris replied, Bring it on, motherf--kers.

He was there at the start of the riot and remained for the whole four hour period until the very end, Kitchen wrote.

He was confrontational with the police and other peace makers throughout and he was physically aggressive when confronted himself. His acts encouraged others to commit criminal offences and regularly went beyond encouragement to participate himself in acts of arson, assault, and break and entry.

But what really sets Makris case apart from most others was his commitment, at times almost a frantic commitment, to the mayhem. He consistently attempted to frustrate the police and others who were trying to stop the riot.

Kitchen said Makris is a bright young man who will learn his lesson from any sentence, but said public would get the wrong message from a light sentence