The Russian court service reported that a U.S. national was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for 'crossing the border in possession of a weapon, when he left the United States on a ship to meet a Russian woman whom he had met online.

In a statement released on Monday, the service stated that the man, identified by the name Charles Wayne Zimmerman pleaded guilty, but claimed to have stored the weapon in his yacht "for self-defence" and was unaware of the "Russian law".

Zimmerman's long journey to the Russian prison ended in June 2025. He had sailed from North Carolina in July 2024, then from Portugal through the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, before arriving in the southern port of Sochi in June '2025.

The court added that "Zimmerman informed the court that he met a woman in Kazan via the internet, and decided to sail there to meet her with his yacht."

When he set off, he didn't bother to read the laws of the Russian Federation. He believed that weapons for self-defence stored on his yacht should always be on board.

The service reported that a court in Sochi, Krasnodar, had found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison.

The video shows a rifle and Remington Cartridges that were seized on the yacht where Zimmerman sat with a water bottle.

Zimmerman could not be reached for comment. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez; Guy Faulconbridge)

(source: Reuters)