BC

The BC Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by the Crown to get tougher sentences for two Stanley Cup rioters in Vancouver.

In separate appeals, the same panel of judges ruled that the intermittent jail sentences and months of probation for the admitted rioters are appropriate for the first time offenders.

Lincoln Kennedy Williams was given a 90-day sentence to be served on weekends and 15 months probation for admitting to violent destruction during the riot in June of 2011.

Alexander Peepre pleaded guilty and was given 60 days in jail and 18 months probation for assaulting a bystander, verbally confronting police, and damaging a vehicle.

In its appeal, the Crown claimed Kennedy Williams should have been sent away for at least six months, while a nine-month sentence would have been more appropriate for Peepre.

But Justice Nicole Garson said in both instances the sentencing judges made the right balance of punishing the accused and satisfying public concerns that the sentences were severe enough.