The last of the anti-gentrification protesters Hamilton police nabbed after a vandalism spree on Locke Street last year has concluded his court case.

Charges of mischief over $5,000 and unlawful assembly while masked were stayed against Alexander Balch, who has signed a peace bond not to be in the Locke Street South area for a year.

Crown prosecutor Jeff Levy likened his participation in the March 3, 2018, "riot" to that of two other men previously described in court as having played a "much lesser role."

Balch, a tenants' rights organizer who represented himself during his brief court appearance Wednesday, has completed 50 hours of community service like Jack Duckworth and Andrew Cadotte, whose charges were also stayed last month.

During the spree, dozens of masked protesters carrying a banner emblazoned with the words, "We are the ungovernables," marched down Locke Street South damaging cars and throwing rocks and eggs at storefronts.

Six storefronts were damaged, with Donut Monster and Bitten on Locke bearing the brunt of it.

The vandalism generated considerable backlash among small businesses, their patrons and politicians — not to mention a visit from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Flyers advertising the protest were handed out during an anarchist book fair that weekend at Westdale Secondary School.

Participants dressed in black gathered in Durand Park the evening of March 3, and headed en masse through the neighbourhood to Kirkendall, winding up on Locke Street South.

Days after the vandalism spree, The Tower, a local anarchist collective, posted on Facebook it did not organize the protest but supported it.

"The ongoing effects of gentrification in this city are heartbreaking — waves of displacement, growing violence, and intensifying poverty," the post reads. "You cannot expect for all of this to just be swept under the proverbial rug.

"We have zero tears to shed for Locke Street."

During February's court date, Levy said no stones were thrown through restaurants where patrons were eating, but the "Locke Street riot rattled the community's sense of security."

Tyler Nadeau, who was called the "lead aggressor," received one of the stiffest sentences at six months in jail.

In November, Cedar Hopperton, described as the "ringleader," received the longest penalty of the bunch at one year in jail.

Matthew Lowell-Pelletier and David Prychitka were given conditional discharges and ordered to do 100 hours of community service.

Tammy Kovich received a conditional sentence of nine months that included three months of house arrest.

As part of their sentences, Nadeau and Hopperton were ordered to pay $1,500 each in restitution while three others were told to pay $1,000 apiece.

tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro

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