A person who was supposedly caught on security video defacing a newly painted mural in Vancouver’s Chinatown almost two years ago will not be facing charges as prosecutors determined that the evidence did not meet the standard for charging. Chinatown A person who was caught on security video defacing a newly painted mural in Vancouver’s Chinatown almost two years ago will not be facing charges because after reviewing the evidence, prosecutors concluded that the standard for pressing charges was not met.
“It’s very disappointing because we caught the person on camera,” said Bradley Spence, CEO of personal electric vehicle retailer eevee’s.
Footage from the store's security camera showed the person responsible for the graffiti, who was seen painting over mural artist Carolyn Wong’s “Fu Lu Shou Xi” or “Four Blessings,” on Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Company on East Pender at Main Street in the early hours of May 29, 2022.
The tea shop’s six rolling shutters had previously been repeatedly tagged and the cultural asset was the first for the Chinatown Mural Project, a collaboration between the Vancouver Mural Festival and the Chinatown BIA.
A few days later, Spence saw a man who he believed was the person responsible for the graffiti in Chinatown and confronted him while recording on his iPhone.
Spence repeatedly questioned the man, who was wearing the same vest as the person in the surveillance video, had the same distinct hair color, and was walking what seemed to be the same dog, about why he defaced the Ten Ren mural with graffiti.
In July 2022, Vancouver police stated that they sent the file to Crown counsel for charge assessment.
“There couldn't be more evidence to catch or charge this person, and yet they decided not to,” Spence stated in an interview with Global News on Monday.
The BC Prosecution Service stated that not filing charges was the appropriate action after the prosecutor reviewed the file materials, including video evidence.
According to charge assessment guidelines, charges will only be approved if the evidence gathered presents a strong chance of conviction and if prosecuting is in the public's interest.
“In this case, the prosecutor determined that there was no strong chance of conviction and therefore did not approve the charge,” stated communications counsel Damienne Darby.
“Typically, the Crown receives a poorly put-together set of evidence for these cases that does not meet the standard for approving charges,” stated former Crown prosecutor and criminal lawyer Rob Dhanu.
When it comes to the criminal justice system, “property crime is always overlooked,” Dhanu added.
Although graffiti tagging in a culturally sensitive community is a serious form of mischief, Dhanu mentioned that the courts will always prioritize violent crime.
“Unfortunately, these are the types of crimes that often go unpunished,” Dhanu told Global News.
According to him, the Crown must assess whether it can prove its case if it goes to trial.
“The issue here is that when you look at the video surveillance evidence, all we have is a side profile shot of a person in the dark,” stated Dhanu. “He’s wearing a hat and we simply cannot see his face.”
“It really hurts a lot,” mentioned Spence. “But in the end, I'm glad that I spoke harshly to the person.”
While confronting the person who was tagging, Spence yelled, “You're causing harm to people. Consider that the next time you vandalize someone's property.”
Spence said the suspect eventually gave in to his questioning.
“I’m a worthless person I suppose,” the man confessed on the video.
“At least as a citizen, I can give him an earful,” said Spence.
