‘Married’ US soldier Gordon Black arrested in Russia was ‘visiting his girlfriend’ when he was detained on theft charges, his mom says
An American soldier arrested in Russia was visiting his girlfriend when he was detained on charges of theft, according to his mother.
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 35, had reportedly just ended his service in South Korea and traveled to Russia without any form of authorization.
On Thursday, Black – who was reportedly married – was arrested for theft in Vladivostok, a port city near Russia’s borders with North Korea and China.
Kremlin-controlled Russian television has reported that Black was arrested for beating a woman, identified as Aleksa Viktorovna, 31, and stealing money from her.
Speaking to Good Morning America, his mother Melody Jones said Black was on leave for two weeks when he traveled to Russia, and she felt he was being set up because she suspected his girlfriend was a spy.
“I told him I really didn’t feel comfortable,” the concerned mother said. “I had a bad feeling about him leaving, but he went anyway… I knew something was going to happen.”
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 35, had reportedly just ended his service in South Korea and traveled to Russia without any form of authorization
Kremlin-controlled Russian television has reported that Black was arrested for beating a woman, identified as Aleksa Viktorovna, 31, and stealing money from her. They are in the photo together
His mother Melody Jones said Black was on two weeks leave when he traveled to Russia
Black was interrogated for nine hours after arriving at a Russian airport, Jones said, adding that she did not know whether her son had a visa to visit Russia.
Jones said Black met his girlfriend at a club in South Korea over a year ago and they had a “volatile” relationship.
Black had reportedly claimed that his girlfriend was deported from South Korea after they were involved in a dispute in the fall of 2023.
Photos posted to social media showed them together in January and earlier.
Russian reports say that two weeks after arriving in Vladivostok, the sergeant of the US Army Staff “beat his lover and stole 200,000 rubles from her.”
The court did not mention any allegation of violence against him.
Pro-Kremlin news channel BAZA, with links to law enforcement, said Gordon came to Russia in mid-April.
Jones said Black met his girlfriend at a club in South Korea over a year ago and they had a “volatile” relationship
Black claimed his girlfriend was deported from South Korea after they were involved in a dispute in the fall of 2023
Aleksa Viktorovna is depicted with a gun in her hand
‘About two weeks later they got into an argument and according to… [Aleksa]Gordon beat her.” they said. “He then stole 200,000 rubles and alcohol from her.”
The court ordered that he be held in pre-trial detention until July 2 on a charge that could see him jailed for up to five years.
Black would transfer from South Korea to Fort Cavazos, Texas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry office in Vladivostok has said Black’s arrest is not political or related to espionage.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US is aware of the cause but cannot say much more at this time.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said, “The Russian Federation has notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Melody Jones said Black was on two weeks leave when he traveled to Russia, and she felt he was being set up because she suspected his girlfriend was a spy.
“The military has notified his family and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia. Given the sensitivity of this matter, we cannot provide additional details at this time.”
Black is now one of many American citizens currently imprisoned in Russia.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been held by Russia since March last year.
Meanwhile, former Marine Paul Whelan has been imprisoned since 2018; he is sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of espionage.
Both are being wrongfully detained, according to the US government.
In addition, American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina has been imprisoned in Russia since January for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity.
She was charged with treason and faces up to 20 years in prison for making a small donation to the humanitarian charity Razom on the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
The charge was discovered after her phone was confiscated as she flew into Yekaterinburg’s Koltsovo Airport on January 2, planning to visit her 90-year-old grandparents in time for Russia’s Christmas Day.
The US government has warned American citizens not to travel to Russia.