A Ridgefield man accused of groping a teenage girl and female employee at the Battle Ground Wal-Mart appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court.
Dmitriy S. Sveshnikov, 22, faces two allegations of indecent liberties in connection with the March 15 incident.
Battle Ground police were dispatched about 5:15 p.m. to the Wal-Mart at 1201 S.W. 13th Ave., for a report of a sex crime. A 16-year-old girl was groped by an unknown man inside the store, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The girl told police she was shopping alone in the toy aisle when a man approached her and grabbed her “butt” from behind. When she turned around, she saw the man, whom she didn’t recognize, standing close to her. She said the incident happened quickly but that she asked him, “What are you doing?” She said the man “smirked” at her and then walked away down the aisle, the affidavit states.
The girl said she kept shopping but saw the same man from a distance over the next several minutes. While standing in the check-out line, she noticed a female Wal-Mart employee who appeared to be upset and crying, and then “it hit me,” she told police. She said she thought the same thing may have happened to the employee, according to court documents.
She told an assistant manager what had happened and described the man and what he was wearing to police. The assistant manager reported that an employee was also grabbed, court records said. That employee was working near the fitting rooms when the man walked passed her, grabbed her “butt” and kept walking. She said she turned and yelled at him, but he didn’t respond, the affidavit states.
Police obtained surveillance footage of the suspect entering and leaving the store and an image of the pickup he was driving. The information and photos were released to the public March 21. Several tipsters reported seeing the pickup in the Battle Ground and Vancouver areas. One caller identified the driver as “Dmitriy,” according to court documents.
Sveshnikov called the police department March 22 and said he recognized himself from the press release. He stated that he didn’t know why police were looking for him and that he didn’t do anything wrong. He wanted to clear his name, he said, and reported to the department. Sveshnikov denied contacting or grabbing anyone at the store and said he believed it was a case of mistaken identity, court records state.
He will retain his own attorney, court records show, and his bail was set at $20,000. He will be arraigned April 13.
