A 22-year-old man suspected of robbing the same Vancouver credit union branch twice at gunpoint made a first appearance Friday in Clark County Superior Court.
Dmitriy Gernega, address unknown, appeared to face two counts of first-degree robbery with a firearm stemming from the April 2014 incidents.
On April 9, an employee at Cascade Federal Credit Union, 1706 D St., called 911 to report being robbed at gunpoint. Employees told Vancouver police detectives that they were robbed by the same man who had come to the bank’s entrance and looked inside on March 25, 2014. Employees had previously reported that suspicious incident, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The man reportedly wore similar clothing: all black clothes, gloves and had a dark bandana over his face.
Employees said he was armed with a black semi-automatic pistol. After the robbery, the suspect ran to an unlicensed Ford Explorer parked around the corner and sped away, court records said.
On April 15, an employee called 911 again to report another robbery involving a firearm. Employees told detectives it was the same man who had robbed the credit union the week prior. They described the same circumstances, according to the affidavit.
Detectives collected the credit union’s surveillance footage of the robbery, and it contained images of the suspect. The following day, a Portland Police Bureau detective shared bank robbery footage from a Portland serial robber the FBI dubbed “Jabba the Robber,” court records show.
Vancouver police were informed on July 18 that Gresham, Ore., police arrested the suspect, identified as Gernega. He was arrested after robbing a Gresham bank, court documents said.
Gresham police also had located a Ford Explorer at Gernega’s residence matching the description given by employees at the Vancouver credit union, the affidavit said. Police additionally found clothing matching the robbery suspect’s in Gernega’s home, court records said.
In March, a credit union employee identified Gernega as the robber after looking at a photo line-up, according to court documents.
Gernega has been in custody at the Multnomah County Jail.
On Friday, Judge Gregory Gonzales set Gernega’s bail at $400,000 and appointed Vancouver defense attorney Gregg Schile to represent him.
Gernega will be arraigned Dec. 24.
