Warrants issued for two witnesses who fled before testifying

KAMLOOPS – Warrants are expected to be issued this week for the two witnesses who fled Kamloops to Vancouver before they could testify in an armed robbery trial.

The trial was adjourned last month after Crown's two key witnesses left town. Alicia Pala and Abhishek Chandra were supposed to testify on May 30, but the trial was postponed until the next day.

That gap in time was all Pala and Chandra needed to become frightened and head down to Vancouver before taking the stand.

Chandra and his then-pregnant partner Pala were staying at the Columbia Motor Inn in October 2015 after moving to Kamloops from Vancouver. On Oct. 17, two men busted down the door to their room with an aluminum bat. The suspects, alleged to be Braaten and Santoro, told the couple to leave while they ransacked the room, stealing money and jewelry, Gold said.

The couple ran down to the front desk and had someone call the police. Both men were arrested at the scene.

Crown prosecutor Joel Gold told the courtroom the trial is expected to begin Wednesday, June 15.

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