US soldier Gordon Black is sentenced to nearly four years in brutal Russian penal colony over theft and threatening to murder his local girlfriend

An American soldier held in Russia on charges of theft and threatening to kill his girlfriend was found guilty Wednesday and sentenced to three years and nine months in a Russian penal colony.

Gordon Black, 34, is a staff sergeant who was arrested on May 2 in Vladivostok in Russia’s far east.

He pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of threatening to kill his girlfriend, but admitted he was ‘partially’ guilty of stealing from her.

Black’s lawyer will appeal the verdict, a Russian news agency reported, adding that the judge had imposed a “prison sentence of three years and nine months” on both charges.

The office said prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of four years and eight months, while the defense asked that Black be acquitted of all charges.

Black “partially” admitted his guilt on charges of stealing 10,000 rubles ($113) from his girlfriend Alexandra Vashchuk’s bag, but said “there was no foul play,” RIA reported.

The pair had met in South Korea, where Black was stationed.

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

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

Black, 35, had reportedly just finished his tour of duty in South Korea and traveled to Russia without permission.

But his mother Melody Jones has refuted this story, claiming her son was “set up,” stating that his girlfriend asked her to wire her $600 before his arrest.

“She tried to ask us for money,” she said Fox. “She wanted me to open another account and send money to her,” agreeing that the request was a “red flag.”

She reiterated previous comments about her sense of unease about her son’s plans to visit his girlfriend.

“I told him I had a really bad feeling he was going to go,” she added. “I was more worried than when he was in Iraq for some reason.

‘We’re sitting on pins and needles. We are of course very tired and worried. I wish I could hear his voice.”

She added that the girlfriend has not been in contact since, but has been active on TikTok and posting videos of him.

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.

According to Russian reports, two weeks after arriving in Vladivostok, the US Army sergeant “beat his lover and stole 200,000 rubles from her.”

The court did not mention any allegations of violence against him.

Pro-Kremlin news channel BAZA, with links to law enforcement, said Gordon came to Russia in mid-April.

‘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 him to 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.

“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.