Two men accused of firing shots at a group of high school students at Vancouver’s Marine Park were back in Clark County Superior Court on Monday to face allegations in a different shooting. The prosecution said a third suspect was arrested last week in Oregon in connection with both incidents.
Mykola Kovalchuk of Gresham, Ore., and Dmitriy Yurchenko of Portland appeared on suspicion of three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of drive-by shooting. The men, both 20, are also facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder, 11 counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of drive-by shooting in the Marine Park case. A 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl were wounded in that shooting.
Pavlo S. Kosmyna, 22, of Portland is being held at the Multnomah County Jail awaiting extradition to Clark County. He was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, booking records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Artur Savochka was hosting a party Sept. 24 for a friend who was leaving town. There were approximately 30 to 40 people at his residence in the 6500 block of Northeast 79th Avenue in Vancouver.
Kovalchuk, Kosmyna and a third person arrived at the party with a group of people who were not invited. When they were repeatedly told to leave, Kosmyna started a fight with Savochka. One of the males punched Savochka in the face, knocking him to the ground, and a fight ensued. The group reportedly left after hearing sirens, the affidavit states.
About two hours later, dispatch received a call shortly before 12:45 a.m. for shots fired at the residence. Clark County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home and found a 2- to 3-inch hole in the center of the glass front door, holes in the wall behind the front door and five smaller holes in the living room that appeared to be caused by a 9 mm or .380 bullets, court records said.
People at the party reported hearing the shots and began to panic and run. Others dropped to the floor. One witness said he saw glass fly out of the front door, and he ran to the kitchen, according to court documents. No one was injured.
Several people arriving at the party reported seeing a dark gray BMW speeding through the neighborhood with its headlights off. Two people wearing masks over their mouths got out of the BMW, ran to the house and fired multiple shots. They then ran back to their car and sped off. One of the shooters was carrying a shotgun, the affidavit said.
Kosmyna and Kovalchuk allegedly met up with Yurchenko after the fight at the party. Kovalchuk drove Yurchenko’s BMW to the house, and Kosmyna and Yurchenko put on masks and armed themselves with a .380 semi-automatic pistol and shotgun, according to court documents.
Police later found a 12-gauge shotgun in the trunk of Yurchenko’s car and two masks in the backseat, the affidavit said.
Kovalchuk and Yurchenko are being held at the Clark County Jail on a total of $600,000 and $2.5 million bail, respectively. They will be arraigned in both cases Nov. 23.
