Sevier Grand Jury returns indictment against Russian

The Sevier County Grand Jury indictment alleging a Russian with murdering two employment brokers nearly three years ago was unsealed on Jan. 27.
Yuriy Solovyev was charging him with two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder. He is considered armed and dangerous, according to Brackins. His whereabouts are unknown.
Solovyev, 36, is accused of killing roommates Vladimir Yemelyanov and Sufiya Arslanova at an apartment in Gatlinburg.
The indictment was unsealed at the request of District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. to aid the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the investigation.
Solovyvev is also charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution by the FBI. He also was wanted for theft in Rahway, N.J., and credit card fraud in Washington, D.C.
Yemelyanov, 30, Arslanova, 38, and Solovyvev disappeared from the East Side Motel on Highway 321 in July 2002.
A blood-soaked couch and blood-splattered walls were found in the apartment.
Yemelyanov and Arslanova came to Gatlinburg and set up shop as an employment broker with a company name of V&S Services. Solovyev was an employee of the firm.
Montgomery said Yemelyanov and Arslanova marketed immigrants like themselves to area restaurant and motels struggling to find enough workers.
Yemelyanov and Arslanova helped immigrants make their way to Gatlinburg. They often set them up in housing in hotel rooms or small apartments. It was normal for several immigrants to share a room.
The immigrants often were allegedly not paid directly. Instead, their earnings went to V&S Services. The immigrants were paid a portion of what they earned, with the couple taking a cut for their .
Labor officials called the practice questionable. V&S Services was not licensed in Gatlinburg or the state. It was not clear whether the workers they supplied to area businesses had work visas. Nor was it known whether the employers ever checked for the required documentation.
Police discovered Yemelyvanov, Arslanova and Solovyev missing in July 2002 after the landlord went into their apartment and found paint on walls and furnishings.
The next month, the landlord found two cans of spray paint in the apartment. He took the cans to police headquarters, but the cans later disappeared.
Arslanova’s car was found in August at a Gatlinburg municipal parking lot. It had been abandoned there.
In September, Yemelyvanov’s car also was found. It had been abandoned behind a gas station in Sevierville near Interstate 40 entrance and later towed to a local garage.
Also in September 2002, police learned Solovyev had been captured on videotape at a store inside a pricey mall in Washington, D.C., where he allegedly was using a credit card issued to Yemelyvanov.
Police issued a warrant for his arrest, but Solovyev could not be located. There have been no more transactions on Yemelyvanov’s credit card, and the whereabouts of the suspect have remained unknown.