A Russian court has convicted and sentenced an American on charges of illegally transporting weapons. The U.S. citizen, identified as Charles Wayne Zimmerman, was handed a 5-year sentence by the court in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi after a rifle was found on his yacht in June. Russian customs officials found the weapon while inspecting it upon arrival in Sochi. The regional courts’ press service said in a statement Monday that Zimmerman told the court that he traveled to Russia to meet a woman he had previously contacted online. It added that Zimmerman argued that he had bought the gun for self-defense and was unaware that it wasn’t allowed to keep it on his yacht.
