Russian court sentences American man to 9 years in prison

A Russian court sentenced an American man to nine years in prison Tuesday for killing of his wife's uncle in a dispute over an apartment, Russian news agencies reported.

Photo: Russian court sentences American man to 9 years in prison

A district court in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk handed down the sentence after convicting Christopher Garner, 29, in the September 2006 killing of Alexander Kaminsky, Interfax and RIA-Novosti reported.

News agencies said Kaminsky was killed in a fight that broke out amid an argument over the ownership of an apartment. Police said that after the killing, Garner and his wife drove the body to a village outside of Khabarovsk, located about 6,100 kilometers (3,800 miles) east of Moscow.

Garner was detained in Moscow after turning himself in to Russian police several days later.

Neither Khabarovsk prosecutors nor court officials could be reached for confirmation Tuesday.

At the time of the killing, Garner was an active duty enlisted man in the U.S. Army, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His current status was not immediately clear.