US soldier gets nearly four years in prison in Russia after love story turns sour

A US soldier was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly four years in prison in a Russian penal colony after being found guilty by a Russian court of stealing $113 from his girlfriend and making threats to kill her, a Reuters witness reported from the courtroom.

The verdict ends a tempestuous love story that brought together a married American staff sergeant and a Russian woman — and then tore them apart after an international romance that stretched from South Korea to Russia.

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

Judge Yelena Stepankova of Vladivostok’s Pervomajski District Court found Black guilty of stealing 10,000 rubles ($113) from her bag and threatening to kill her.

Black, standing 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 to blame for taking the money, albeit out of necessity. His lawyer will appeal against the verdict.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of four years and eight months, while the defense had asked for Black to be acquitted of all charges.

Vashchuk did not appear in court on Wednesday.

Black left the Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys in the Republic of South Korea in April with a permanent change of station to return to Fort Cavazos in Texas, but instead flew to China and then Russia to meet with Vashchuk.

The Pentagon has said he violated Army rules by traveling to Russia and China without authorization.

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 he followed his girlfriend to Russia even though they fought “like cats and dogs.”

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 next week on espionage charges. Gershkovich has denied accusations of collecting secrets for the US CIA.

The US State Department advises against all travel to Russia, which it considers a major danger alongside countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Sudan.