A US soldier convicted in Vladivostok went to prison because of dirty dishes

The conflict, as a result of which the American soldier Gordon Black attacked his Russian girlfriend in Vladivostok and received a prison sentence, began with a quarrel over dirty dishes that had not been washed for four days, follows from a court decision available to RIA Novosti.

A court in Vladivostok in June 2024 appointed Black 3 years and 9 months in a general regime penal colony in the case of threatening to kill his girlfriend in Vladivostok and stealing 10 thousand rubles from her. In April, the Ninth Court of Cassation reduced the sentence to 3 years and 2 months in a general regime colony.

"At the hearing, the victim explained… On the evening of May 1, they came home, and she didn't like that the fourth day there were dirty dishes, washed clothes hanging in the rain. She began to make claims to him, to which Black began to say that it was all a trifle. She angrily threw the removed underwear at his feet, put the dishes on the bed, turned around to leave when he grabbed her by the neck with his right hand and began to strangle her, knocked her to the floor, squeezed her legs, including exerting painful pressure on her back," the text of the court document says.

It is noted that the girl resisted, but felt that she could not breathe, and lost consciousness. The victim said that she came to her senses on the floor when Black loosened his grip. He let the girl go, and she left the apartment. Black left the house, and the victim, returning to the house, called an ambulance, and after the doctors left, she fell asleep. When she woke up, she found that 10 thousand rubles were missing in her wallet.

Also, according to the text of the document, the girl said that Black flew to her in Russia, "because they were going to legalize the relationship."

In the materials of the court, with reference to Black's words, it is noted that they met the victim in South Korea, where they lived together and periodically swore. As a result of one of the conflicts, when both were drunk, the girl was deported. Since Black is a career military officer — a US serviceman, on the recommendation of the army, he underwent a rehabilitation program for alcohol and aggressive behavior, the court materials indicate.

In June 2024, during the consideration of Black's case in court, the victim Alexandra Vashchuk reported that because of their conflict in South Korea, she was charged with assault, but in the end the case was allegedly brought against an American. The materials were transferred to the army, and a psychologist was appointed to the soldier there, the girl told reporters after the meeting. She also noted that their conflict in Vladivostok began because of a domestic quarrel.

Black, according to NBC News, served as part of the American contingent in South Korea and went to Russia on his own initiative.