Convicted Indo-Canadian Gay-Basher Back Behind Bars For Robbery

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Michael Kandola along with another Indo-Canadian man – Satpal Heer – each face 20 months in jail and two years probation for robbery

VANCOUVER – A convicted Indo-Canadian gay-basher is going back to jail – this time after robbing a jewelry store.

Michael Kandola will spend the next 20 months behind bars after a Surrey jewelry store heist in June 2009. He’s also been sentenced to 2 years probation.

Kandola, 24, pleaded guilty last June to one count of robbery. According to court records, he was sentenced Monday in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey.

On the afternoon of June 5, 2009, three men walked into a jewelry store near 83rd Avenue and 128th Street. After looking at the items in the display cases, one of the men pulled out a handgun and ordered the people working in the store to lie on the floor.

The two other suspects jumped over the counter to steal jewelry.

A female staff member was assaulted after she failed to quickly respond to the robbers’ requests. The suspects ran from the store with about $500,000 worth of merchandise.

Kandola was arrested and charged in December 2009. The co-accused, Satpal Heer, was arrested in April 2010. The third suspect, who pulled out the gun, has not been charged. The case is still under investigation.

Heer also pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery and received the same sentence.

But Kandola is no stranger to a jail cell.

The 23-year old served 17 months for attacking a gay man – Jordan Smith – in downtown Vancouver in 2008.

Smith was walking hand-in-hand with another man

Kandola was part of a group that yelled homophobic taunts at the couple before the attack, and after he punched 27-year-old Jordan Smith, Kandola continued hurling insults.

Smith suffered a broken jaw, a concussion and lacerations. . Even though Kandola admitted to uttering homophobic insults, he insists it wasn’t a hate crime.

Kandola’s sentence was reduced to 12 months after credit for pre-sentence custody. He was also given a year of probation.