Suspect in gang-related robbery appears in court

A Vancouver man appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of a gang-related robbery of a man who was walking along East Mill Plain Boulevard near Fort Vancouver Way.

Dmitriy O. Panasevich, 25, faces a charge of first-degree robbery at his Aug. 16 arraignment.

Judge Barbara Johnson held him on $100,000 bail. Vancouver attorney Tonya Rulli was appointed to defend him.

The victim told police he was assaulted by three men as he walked home on Sept. 22, 2012, from his job at Main Event Sports Grill, 800 Main St., according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court. He said he recognized a vehicle that passed him as belonging to some Carlson Block Bloods gang members whom he had barred from entering the bar earlier in the evening.

Shortly afterwards, he said, he heard a vehicle stop behind him, and a group of people got out.

Before he could turn to see what was happening, he said, someone was punching him with what he believes were brass knuckles. The victim eventually lost consciousness during the attack, the affidavit says. He said the next thing he remembered was seeing the men flee in a white Honda. He said he later noticed that his money was missing.

The victim identified Panasevich as one of the assailants when investigators presented a photo lineup of suspected Carlson Block Bloods, the affidavit says. A warrant was issued for Panasevich’s arrest, but investigators were unable to apprehend him until Sunday, according to court records.

Panasevich lives with his wife and child at his parents’s house in the North Image neighborhood, court records say.

He has previous drug charges in Clark County from 2006.