{"id":2261337,"date":"2024-06-06T12:58:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-begins-trial-of-american-soldier-accused-of-theft\/"},"modified":"2024-06-06T12:58:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:58:37","slug":"russia-begins-trial-of-american-soldier-accused-of-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-begins-trial-of-american-soldier-accused-of-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial of American Soldier Accused of Theft Begins in Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frussia-begins-trial-of-american-soldier-accused-of-theft%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2261337&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Army\u2064 Staff Sgt.\u2064 Gordon Black,\u200c 34, is set to stand trial in a Russian court for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ice-nominee-worked-with-blm-to-push-false-claim-that-white-man-murdered-7-year-old-black-girl\/\" title=\"ICE Nominee Worked With BLM to Push False Claim That White Man Murdered 7-Year-Old Black Girl\">theft charges<\/a> following his arrest in Vladivostok.\u2062 The trial, scheduled for Thursday, will see Black testify in response \u200cto the accusations. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison. The incident arose from a domestic dispute\u2064 with his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, who accused him of\u200c theft. Army\u2063 Staff Sgt.\u200b Gordon Black, 34, faces trial in a Russian court for theft charges after being arrested in Vladivostok. The upcoming trial \u200dwill involve Black&#8217;s testimony in defense against the accusations. A guilty \u2062verdict could lead \u2062to a potential\u200c five<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-pardon-jon-woods-a-victim-of-process-crimes-like-michael-flynn\/\" title=\"President Trump, Please Pardon Jon Woods, a Victim of Process Crimes Like Michael Flynn\">-year prison sentence<\/a>. The \u2064situation originated from\u2063 a domestic conflict with his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, who accused him of\u200c theft.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/army\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Army<\/a> Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, will face trial Thursday in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Russian<\/a> court after he was arrested on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>theft<\/a> charges earlier this year in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.<\/p>\n<p>Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported from the courtroom in the Pervomaisky District Court that Black has agreed to testify in the trial and will respond to the accusations against him later in the proceedings. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n<p>Black\u2019s arrest stems from a domestic dispute with his Russian girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, who accused him of stealing money from her wallet after he \u201cbecame aggressive and attacked\u201d her. Black, who is married, met her while stationed in South Korea.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>In this frame grab taken from video, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black\u2019s girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, speaks to reporters after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/riveting-live-stream-video-antrim-county-court-hearing-on-dominion-voting-machines-agreement-to-remove-protective-order\/\" title=\"RIVETING-  LIVE-STREAM VIDEO: Antrim County Court Hearing on Dominion Voting Machines \u2014 AGREEMENT TO REMOVE PROTECTIVE ORDER!\">court hearing<\/a> on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Vladivostok, Russia. A court began the trial of the American soldier arrested in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ted-cruz-adds-amendment-to-asian-hate-crime-bill-making-it-illegal-to-discriminate-against-asians-in-school-admissions\/\" title=\"Ted Cruz Adds Amendment To \u2018Asian Hate Crime\u2019 Bill Making It Illegal To Discriminate Against Asians In School Admissions\">city earlier<\/a> this year on charges of stealing. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The soldier\u2019s arrest further complicates American-Russian relations during the Russo-Ukrainian war that has led tensions to rise in the Eastern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. State Department strongly advises American citizens not to go to Russia, and Black would likely not have been cleared to go there by commanding officers. A U.S. Army spokesperson said Black did not seek authorization, and \u201cinstead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Incheon, Republic of Korea, through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black is escorted to a courtroom on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Vladivostok, Russia. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Black joins <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> journalist Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan among Americans jailed in Russia. If Black is imprisoned, Russia could seek a prisoner exchange deal as it did with WNBA star Brittney Griner when she was imprisoned on drug charges.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Black\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/05\/09\/us-news\/mom-of-detained-us-soldier-gordon-black-says-he-was-lured-to-russia-by-girlfriend\/?utm_source=twitter&#038;utm_campaign=nypost&#038;utm_medium=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>mother<\/a> said he was \u201clured\u201d to Russia by his girlfriend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was worried about him going because the government there has been grabbing Americans,\u201d Black\u2019s mother said. \u201cI told him not to go. I was more worried about him going to Russia than I was when he was in Iraq and Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, to stand trial in a Russian court on theft charges, arrested earlier this year in Vladivostok. RIA Novosti reported from the Pervomaisky District Court that Black will testify in the trial set for Thursday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2261338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24158385272744.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2261337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24158385272744.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2261337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2261338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2261337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2261337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2261337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}