The U.S. soldier detained in Russia earlier this month confessed to charges of theft after he was accused of stealing money from his girlfriend, Russian state media claims.
Army Staff Sgt. Gordon D. Black was arrested May 6 in Vladivostok.
Black, 34, "admitted guilt and is cooperating with the investigation," a Russian law enforcement representative said, TASS reported Thursday.
Black — a married father in the middle of a divorce — was stationed in South Korea and was traveling to his next duty station in the United States, when he made a stop in Russia to visit his girlfriend, identified as 32-year-old Aleksandra Vashchuk.
The pair reportedly had a tumultuous and violent relationship and "fought like cats and dogs," Black's mother, Melody Jones, previously told Reuters.
"I told them both: You don't need to be together. One of you is going to get hurt one of these days," Jones said. "You know, because if you fight, it's not a good thing if it's all you do."
