Warrant sweep in Vancouver results in 16 felony arrests

Police arrested 16 people with felony warrants in Vancouver on Wednesday during a warrant sweep by neighborhood response teams, the state Department of Corrections and K-9 units.

“We target people who we believe are committing a lot of crime or who are causing neighborhood livability issues,” said Steve Dobbs, sergeant of the Vancouver Police Department neighborhood response team covering east Vancouver. “If we can hold those people accountable and get them back in front of a judge, they’re not out committing more crime.”

Officers searched for people with felony warrants or multiple misdemeanor warrants; during another sweep the teams focused on fugitives with property crime warrants, Dobbs said.

While warrant sweeps aren’t uncommon, they take a bit of research and preparation. Officers gather addresses and contacts for people with warrants to figure out where they might be able to find them. Then, the jail gets a heads-up about the influx of inmates.

During the sweep, one fugitive ran from officers and across Interstate 205. Police went to an apartment complex off Northeast 109th Avenue to arrest Oleg Kornuta. The 22-year-old jumped over a chain-link fence, cutting his hand on the fence, and ran toward the freeway, Dobbs said.

Kornuta ran across the northbound lanes, then ran down a hill and hid under the southbound overpass, where officers found him.

Kornuta had a probation violation following a 2012 conviction, according to Superior Court records.