U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black reads a paper standing in a glass cage in courtroom in Vladivostok, Russia, on June 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
A Russian court on Wednesday jailed a U.S. soldier for death threats and theft, state news agencies reported.
Gordon Black was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison by the court in Vladivostok, state-run TASS and Sputnik reported.
Mr. Black was arrested last month in the far eastern city, where he was visiting a Russian woman he met and dated while serving in South Korea.
The 34-year-old was detained after the woman, named by Russian media as Alexandra Vashuk, reported him to the police after an argument.
Ms. Vashuk had accused Mr. Black of stealing some 10,000 rubles (100 euros) from her and said he had physically attacked her.
Mr. Black pleaded “partially guilty” to theft and not guilty to threatening to kill Vashuk, Russian media reported.
Mr. Black said she had started an argument after drinking.
The pair met in October 2022 on the dating app Tinder in South Korea and had dated there, Black said, before Vashuk then invited him to come to Vladivostok.
His lawyer intends to appeal the verdict, TASS reported Wednesday.
