A BC Supreme Court trial continued at the Vernon Law Courts Friday, without one of the accused.
The RCMP issued a warrant for Stewart Tkachuk Tuesday, Feb. 27, after he failed to attend his trial the day before. Tkachuk had also missed several days of the trial last week.
Tkachuk is one of two accused in the case of an alleged armed robbery in Lumby in 2019, alongside Edward Coghill, who was present in court Friday, March 1.
Both Tkachuk and Coghill are accused of breaking into a home and committing an armed robbery on Sept. 18, 2019. They are charged with break and enter to commit an indictable offence, robbery where a firearm is used, discharge of a firearm with intent to wound or disfigure, unlawfully discharging a firearm, disguising face with intent to commit offence, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm without licence and/or registration. Tkachuk has one additional charge, possession of a firearm contrary to an order.
At the Vernon courthouse on Friday, Crown prosecutor Brock Bellrichard submitted as evidence numerous photos taken by police investigators who attended the scene of the robbery, which took place on Dure Meadow Road.
One series of photos showed a woman on a bed holding a firearm. During his witness testimony, RCMP officer Cpl. Tyler Jackson said he believed it to be a 12 gauge shotgun.
Bellrichard also focused on a pair of stolen bikes, one of which was orange. He pointed out an orange bike in the background of one of the photos submitted as evidence. A pair of bloody jeans was also discussed by the Crown.
Jackson told the court that he was part of a search of a vehicle associated with Coghill and had seized a cell phone from the vehicle. Call logs, text messages and contacts from the device were submitted as evidence.
The Crown closed its case Friday afternoon, and Coghill did not call any evidence. That means the next order of business is closing submissions, which will take place on April 19 at the Vernon Law Courts before Justice John Gibb-Carsley.
Meanwhile, the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP are continuing their search for Tkachuk. The 52-year-old is described as a Caucasian man with green eyes, standing five-foot-eight and weighing 161 pounds with a shaved head with tattoos on his skull and neck.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Tkachuk is asked to contact the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP 250-545-7171, or information can be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by leaving a tip online at nokscrimestoppers.com.
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