An American soldier arrested in Russia was visiting his girlfriend when he was detained on robbery charges, according to his mother.
Sergeant Gordon Black, 35, had reportedly just finished his service in South Korea and traveled to Russia without any permission.
On Thursday, Black, who is said to be married, was arrested for robbery in Vladivostok, a port city near Russia’s border with North Korea and China.
Kremlin-controlled Russian television 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 that he felt like he was being set up because he suspected his girlfriend was a spy.
“I told him I felt very uncomfortable,” the worried mother said. “I had a bad feeling about her leaving, but she went anyway… I knew something was going to happen.”
Sergeant Gordon Black, 35, had reportedly just finished his service in South Korea and traveled to Russia without any permission.
Kremlin-controlled Russian television reported that Black was arrested for beating a woman, identified as Aleksa Viktorovna, 31, and stealing money from her. They are pictured together
His mother, Melody Jones, said Black was on leave for two weeks when he traveled to Russia.
Black was questioned for nine hours upon arrival at a Russian airport, Jones said, adding that he did not know if his son had a visa to visit Russia.
Jones said Black met his girlfriend at a club in South Korea more than 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 on social media showed them together in January and before.
Russian reports say that two weeks after arriving in Vladivostok, the US Army sergeant “beat his beloved and stole 200,000 rubles from her.”
The court did not bring any charges of violence against him.
The pro-Kremlin news outlet BAZA, with ties to law enforcement, said Gordon arrived in Russia in mid-April.
Jones said Black met his girlfriend at a club in South Korea more than a year ago and they had a “volatile” relationship.
Black had claimed that his girlfriend was deported from South Korea after they were involved in a dispute in the fall of 2023.
Aleksa Viktorovnais pictured holding a rifle
‘About two weeks later they quarreled and, according to [Aleksa], Gordon hit her. they said. “After that, she stole 200,000 rubles and alcohol from him.”
The court ordered his preventive detention until July 2 on a charge that could lead to five years in prison.
Black was supposed to move from South Korea to Fort Cavazos in 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 United States is aware of the cause but could not say much more at this time.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said: ‘The Russian Federation notified the US State Department of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Melody Jones said Black was on leave for two weeks when he traveled to Russia and that he felt like he was being set up because he suspected his girlfriend was a spy.
‘The Army has notified his family and the US State Department is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia. “Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”
Black is now one of several American citizens currently imprisoned in Russia.
Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since last March.
Meanwhile, former Marine Paul Whelan has been imprisoned since 2018; He is sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of espionage.
Both are unjustly detained, according to the US government.
Additionally, Russian-American dancer 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 organization Razom on the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
The payment was discovered after his phone was confiscated when he flew into Yekaterinburg’s Koltsovo airport on January 2, planning to visit his 90-year-old grandparents in time for Christmas Day in Russia.
The US government has warned US citizens not to travel to Russia.
