U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Faces Charges of Theft and Threatening to Kill His Girlfriend in Russia

Here is the latest on the U.S. Army NCO jailed in Russia:

A U.S. soldier, stationed in South Korea but detained in Russia on suspicion of stealing from his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, went on trial on Thursday, the state news agency RIA reported. Gordon Black was detained on May 2 in Vladivostok in Russia’s far east on suspicion of stealing from his Russian girlfriend.

Citing local prosecutors, Russian independent media reported he had also subsequently been charged with threatening to kill her. Black, a U.S. Army staff sergeant posted at Camp Humphreys outside Seoul, pleaded guilty to theft in May, RIA reported at the time, citing interior ministry officials.

Stars & Stripes

Here is also more details on what he is alleged to have done:

Prosecutors said the couple had quarrelled and the American had subsequently “forcibly grabbed the girl by the neck, which she perceived as a real threat to her life.” Black is then alleged to have stolen 10,000 roubles ($110) from her purse and fled their shared apartment, according to media reports. He was later arrested at a local hotel, where he had purchased plane tickets and intended to fly back to the U.S.

You can read more at the link, but the more I read about this case the more likely to me that this was not some kid of honey trap and instead this guy just being an idiot and now facing the consequences of his actions.