Photo: File photo
Two men have finally been charged in connection to an alleged attack on Kelowna’s Rail Trail in November 2021. But they both failed to show up for their court dates Thursday.
Thursday afternoon, Justin and Kyle Radis, 34 and 36 years old respectively, were scheduled to make their first appearance in Kelowna court, after charges were laid against both men Wednesday.
They are facing charges of robbery and the aggravated assault of a 17-year-old on the Rail Trail near Dilworth Drive on the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2021.
The accused are currently out of custody and were expected to attend court Thursday afternoon, according to Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Const. Mike Della Paolera.
But according to online court records, both men failed to appear at their scheduled court date and warrants have been issued for their arrest.
At the time of the attack, police said two “transient males” attacked the teen just after 3 pm, when he was riding his bike along the trail. The teen, Dallas, said the men stole his bike, shoes and cell phone, and left him with a broken nose, collapsed lung and fractured ribs.
He required surgery at Kelowna General Hospital, and later told Castanet that November 2021 was “the worst month of [his] alive.”
A GoFundMe page organized by a family friend raised more than $23,000 for Dallas.
Thursday, Dallas said he’s relieved charges had finally been laid against his alleged attackers.
“Physically I’m good, I’m almost all healed up,” he said. “It’s just a relief that they finally have been charged.”
Back in November 2021, police said one of the suspects was arrested that same week of the attack, but he was released without charges pending further investigation. It’s not clear if this initial suspect was Kyle or Justin Radis.
The investigation took many months as police analyzed forensic evidence, including blood from Dallas’ shirt, to identify a second suspect. In April of this year, Dallas Castanet he was frustrated with the time the investigation was told taking.
During question period on April 5, Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Renee Merrifield brought up Dallas’ case in the BC Legislature, asking Attorney General David Eby, “When will the Attorney General start protecting people like Dallas?”
In late August, the Kelowna RCMP announced they’d arrested three men in connection to the alleged attack. But while police had arrested the men, investigators had not yet handed over their disclosure packages to the Crown, so charges were not laid at the time and the men were released from custody.
On Wednesday, charges were finally laid against Justin and Kyle Radis. No charges have been laid against the third man police arrested in August.
According to online court records, Kyle has no prior criminal record in BC But Justin is currently facing another charge of assault with a weapon stemming from an alleged incident in Kelowna on Feb. 17, 2022 – more than three months after the alleged Rail Trail incident .
That charge was laid this October and Justin was released on $100 bail on Nov. 23.
This is not the first time Justin Radis has appeared in the news. Back in January of this year, a Kelowna business owner reached out to Castanet to praise Justin for helping save a homeless man who had frozen to the ground overnight outside her business.
