Vancouver men arrested after Camas crime spree

More than a dozen people had their vehicles damaged and burglarized early Saturday morning as two Vancouver men engaged in a crime spree that stretched from Battle Ground to Camas and Vancouver.

Vancouver residents Andrey Tasmaly, 21, and Oleg Izoita, 22, were arrested on charges of first-degree felony malicious mischief and booked into the Clark County Jail. Additional charges are pending.

According to Camas Police Department Sgt. Chuck Nadgwick, a small metal baseball bat was used by the men to allegedly smash the windows of 13 cars parked in the Benton and Forest Home neighborhoods in Camas at approximately 3:30 a.m.

The suspects also stole items they found in the vehicles, which were parked in driveways and along neighborhood streets. A witness called police, giving a good description of the silver Audi driven by the suspects.

“These guys didn’t get a whole lot as far as property, but they did damage — a lot of damage,” Nadgwick said.

According to police, the crime spree actually began prior to the Camas incident, when Tasmaly and Izoita broke into a tow yard in Battle Ground to take possession of Izoita’s vehicle, which had been impounded Friday.

Riding in the silver Audi the duo made their way to Camas, then took off to an apartment complex off of McGillivray Boulevard in the Cascade Park area of Vancouver, where four more vehicles were damaged and prowled. Vancouver police chased the suspects on foot, and deployed an ineffective taser gun round on Tasmaly, but were unable to catch up with the suspects.

Tasmaly and Izoita were then contacted by Clark County Sheriff’s deputies on Saturday afternoon regarding the burglary in Battle Ground, and police established that there was a connection to the reported vehicle vandalism and burglaries in Camas and Vancouver. When questioned by Nadgwick and CPD Det. Jeff Smith that evening, they admitted involvement to the local vandalism and vehicle prowl crimes.

Nadgwick said the crimes in Camas and Vancouver appear to be perpetrated randomly, and were not targeting any one individual.