Russian accused of harassing Black family in Oregon was ordered deported 10 years ago

One of the seven men arrested after police said they harassed a Black family at an Oregon beach was ordered deported to Russia a decade ago, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Oleg Saranchuk and six other men were arrested on July 4 after they were accused of yelling racial slurs and made a Nazi salute at a Black family at a Lincoln City beach, according to the Lincoln City Police Department. Saranchuk initially refused to identify himself to the police.

An ICE spokesperson told McClatchy News that Saranchuk is originally from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and came from Kazakhstan to the United States in 1990.

Saranchuk was convicted on burglary charges in May 2010 and was given a deportation order in June 2010, but due to “detention limits and the inability to acquire his travel documents,” he was allowed to remain in the U.S. under the “Alternative to Detention” program, according to the ICE statement.

“World events or country conditions can sometimes impact a country’s willingness to accept its citizens with final orders of removal, whether that country is cooperative or considered uncooperative,” an ICE official said. “During these times, ICE relies on direct communication with foreign governments and through the Department of State to address the situation and work to remove aliens with final orders of removal. The situation is very fluid, however, ICE’s expectation is that each country will continue to meet its international obligation to accept its own nationals.”

Saranchuk was arrested several times, starting in 2002 for “possession of a stolen vehicle and carrying a concealed firearm,” according to the ICE statement.

The incident on the Fourth of July involved seven “highly intoxicated” white men taunting police for taking their fireworks, and the officers learned that the same group had harassed a Black family by insulting them with racial slurs and making Nazi salutes, according to the police department’s Facebook post.

The Black family said they “felt intimidated by the actions this group had displayed towards them,” according to the news release. The family was allowed to leave the beach after police officers formed a line between the group and the family. Some members of the group continued to taunt and tried to fight police, while others starting shooting fireworks, the news release said.

After other officers arrived, the men were arrested on accusations of interfering with police, disorderly conduct, harassment, riot, possession of illegal fireworks, and offensive littering, the news release said.

Along with Saranchuk, the others arrested include: Gennadiy Kachankov, 30; Antoliy Kachankov, 28; Andrey Zaytsev, 28; Andrey I. Leonchik, 41; and Ruslan Tkachenko, 22. Yuriy Kachankov, 30, was also charged with resisting arrest.

Leonchik was originally misidentified as Saranchuk in the mug shot photo “due to a language barrier and some lack of cooperation,” the police department said.

Six of the men were issued citations and were released on July 5 due to COVID-19 policies at the county jail, according to the post.