The U.S. military on Tuesday said it had been in the dark about Staff Sgt. Gordon Black’s travels to China and Russia, where he was arrested on theft charges, and that he had gone to those countries for “personal reasons.”
“Black did not request official clearance, and the Department of Defense did not authorize his travel to China and Russia,” Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said. “Official and leave travel is currently restricted pursuant to the Department of Defense Foreign Clearance Guide.”
The 34-year-old’s arrest was announced Monday by the U.S. State and Defense departments.
Black is now being held in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. He was in the process of being transferred to Texas after being stationed in South Korea.
Smith added that there was “no evidence Black intended to remain in Russia after his PCS (Permanent Change of Station) leave period ended.”
Her comments came on the heels of a Russian court confirming that Black had been arrested and would be held in custody until July.
“Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok arrested American soldier Gordon Black until July 2 under the ‘theft’ article” of Russia’s criminal code,” court spokeswoman Elena Oleneva said in a statement.
Oleneva added that he will be held in pretrial detention, referring to him only as “U.S. citizen B.”
The Russian court said Black was charged with “secretly stealing property” of a person called “Citizen T,” adding that this had caused the alleged victim “significant damage.” They added that Black’s detention was to prevent him from fleeing the country.
“The court came to the conclusion that U.S. citizen B., under the weight of the charges, in order to avoid responsibility, could hide from the preliminary investigation authorities and the court, thereby preventing the proceedings in the case,” a statement read.
Black enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2008. He was deployed to Iraq from October 2009 to September 2010. He was deployed to Afghanistan from June 2013 to March 2014, Smith said.
Most recently, he had been assigned to the Eighth Army, U.S. Forces Korea, at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. On April 10, he processed out of his base and left for Fort Cavazos, Texas.
“Instead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Icheon, Republic of Korea, through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons,” Smith said.
The Russian Federation notified the State Department, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, following Black’s arrest. The Army notified his family, and the U.S. Department of State is “providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” American officials said.
Black’s mother, Melody Jones, told ABC’s Good Morning America that her son had traveled to Russia to visit his girlfriend.
“I told him I was really uncomfortable,” Jones said about the conversation she had with her son before his ill-fated trip. “I had a bad feeling about him going, but he went anyway.”
After he got to Russia, Black told his mother he was stopped and questioned by Russian authorities.
“He said he was when he got off the plane, that he was pulled to the back in this room for nine hours and questioned why he was there,” Jones said, adding she did not know whether Black had a visa to visit Russia.
She was also critical of Black’s girlfriend, who she said had been deported to Russia from South Korea after she and Black got into a heated argument last year.
“I knew something was going to happen,” Jones said.
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There are no charges against his girlfriend, nor has she been identified.
Over the years, several U.S. citizens have been arrested and detained in Russia, including Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Marine Trevor Reed, WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was part of a prisoner swap in 2022, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last year and remains in prison.