The wife of a U.S. Army soldier detained in Russia while visiting his girlfriend hired a divorce lawyer in 2022 but was unaware of his trip, her lawyer said Thursday.
Staff Sergeant Infantryman Gordon Black, 34, was arrested on May 2 in the Russian port city of Vladivostok. He has been charged with criminal mischief and is accused of stealing from his longtime girlfriend.
Russia’s Interior Ministry regional branch said in a statement Tuesday that Mr. Black and his girlfriend got into an argument and she called police after he noticed her money missing after he had been with her, The Associated Press. reported.
Evan Gershkovic sentenced to one year in prison in Russia as friends can only wait for ‘nightmare’ to end
Gordon Black, a U.S. Army soldier held in Russia, poses for a selfie at an unspecified location in this photo obtained from social media. (Gordon Black, via Facebook/Reuters)
Mr. Black was processing foreign affairs from his duty station in South Korea and was scheduled to return to the United States to report to Fort Cavazos, Texas.
“Megan Black would like to make clear that she had no prior knowledge of Mr. Black’s intentions to travel to Russia,” Brett Pritchard, Megan Black’s attorney, said in a statement.
Pritchard said when Army investigators contacted her about her husband’s whereabouts, she realized he was not at Fort Cavassos.
Melody Jones, Gordon Black’s mother, said she believes her son was framed. She said her son’s relationship with the Russian woman was “volatile” and that she suspected her longtime lover was a spy.
“I knew something was going to happen,” Jones told GMA. “It felt like he was being framed by her girlfriend.”
US Army soldier Gordon Black sent a holiday message from Iraq in 2009. His wife said she was unaware of his recent trip to Russia and that she had hired her divorce attorney in July 2022 to begin efforts to dissolve the marriage, her attorney said. revealed on Thursday. (U.S. Department of Defense)
Mr. Black’s wife believes his decision to go to Russia at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are deeply strained was “reckless,” but the motive was “an extramarital affair between him and a Russian citizen.” It was for completely personal reasons related to the relationship.” And Mr. Black is not involved in any geopolitical intrigue. ”
Pritchard confirmed that Megan Black has retained her services to begin divorce proceedings in July 2022 after nine years of marriage to her husband. The couple reportedly have a 6-year-old daughter.
Pritchard said the two have known each other since 2014 and married in Belton, Texas, after Black was posted to suburban Belton, Texas, near an Army installation.
Russian port city Vladivostok. That’s where U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was taken into custody last Thursday. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Pritchard said Megan Black wants her husband to return to the United States as quickly and safely as possible. His arrest has put a strain on her daughter, who “has to deal with the dual anxiety of not knowing when she will see her father or if she will hear from him.”
Meanwhile, Pritchard said the divorce proceedings “remain pending by the Texas Family Law Court until Mr. Black’s incarceration status can be resolved indefinitely.”
