US soldier sentenced to nearly four years in prison in Russia after love story goes awry – Euractiv

A U.S. soldier was sentenced to nearly four years in a Russian penal colony on Wednesday (June 19) after a Russian court found him guilty of stealing $113 from his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, a Reuters witness reported from the courtroom.

The verdict ends a whirlwind love story that brought together – and then tore apart – a married U.S. staff sergeant and a Russian woman after an international romance that stretched from South Korea to Russia.

Gordon Black, a 34-year-old U.S. staff sergeant, was arrested on May 2 in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok after an argument with his girlfriend Alexandra Vashchuk, whom he had met in South Korea.

Judge Yelena Stepankova of the Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok found Black guilty of stealing 10,000 rubles ($113) from her purse and threatening to kill.

US soldier arrested in Russia for theft

A U.S. soldier who was detained in Russia for criminal misconduct was arrested by a Vladivostok court on theft charges, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Tuesday (May 7).

Black, who stood in a glass cage in the courtroom, was sentenced to three years and nine months in a Russian penal colony and ordered to repay the 10,000 rubles.

He pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill her, but admitted he was partly guilty of taking the money, albeit out of necessity. His defense attorney will appeal the verdict.

The prosecution had demanded a prison sentence of four years and eight months, while the defense demanded that Black be acquitted on all charges.

Vashchuk did not appear in court on Wednesday.

In April, Black permanently reported from the Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys in the Republic of South Korea and planned to return to Fort Cavazos in Texas, but instead he flew to China and then to Russia to meet Vashchuk.

The Pentagon said he had violated army regulations by traveling to Russia and China on his own initiative.

Black has a wife and child in Texas. His wife, Megan, told Reuters last month that he and Vashchuk had a stormy relationship.

Black’s mother, Melody Jones, told Reuters that he followed his girlfriend to Russia even though they “fought like cat and dog.”

Russia is holding at least a dozen American citizens in prison, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who will stand trial behind closed doors on espionage charges next week. Gershkovich denies charges of collecting secrets for the CIA.

The US State Department advises against all travel to Russia because it classifies the country as particularly dangerous, along with countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Sudan.

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