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Trio guilty in 'Good Samaritan' beating

Three men have been convicted for the beating of Good Samaritan Robert MacKay during the infamous Stanley Cup riot in 2011.

Three men have been convicted for the beating of Good Samaritan Robert MacKay during the infamous Stanley Cup riot in 2011.

David Leonati, Carlos Barahona Villeda and Michael MacDonald were all convicted Monday of the assault outside The Bay in Downtown Vancouver, as well as participating in a riot.

MacDonald was also convicted of mischief for throwing a sign through a broken window.

While all charges were dropped against a fourth man in the incident, Ioannis (John) Kangles.

MacKay, a Richmond chef at the time, was assaulted June 15, 2011 outside the store during the riot that followed the Vancouver Canucks' Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup final.

Mackay had grabbed a pole that night and used it in a bid to push back hordes of rioters who were swarming towards The Bay's giant windows. MacKay was then set upon by a number of the rioters, including the three convicted men.

MacKay, who was pepper-sprayed as well as beaten up, said he was pleased with Monday's verdict.

He told CKNW Radio, "I'm sure the judge, he had a lot of information to go through, and I respect his decision."

MacDonald, Leonati and Barahona-Villeda will come back for a sentencing hearing on June 23.

Kangles, meanwhile, won't have to, "I feel like doing a backflip but I'm scared I'd probably hurt myself," he told media outside court.

The judge said the evidence against Kangles wasn't clear enough to convict him.

For more stories, go to richmond-news.com.