31-year-old American convicted after bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos Islands

Tyler Wenrich, a 911 operator and emergency medical technician from Virginia who was arrested after bringing hunting ammunition to the Turks and Caicos Islands in April, is now able to return home.

According to ABC News, NBC News and CNN, on Tuesday, May 28, Wenrich, 31, was fined $9,00 and ordered to serve time after a three-week stay in jail. The sentencing came days after Wenrich pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing ammunition for two 9mm rounds on May 21.

Wenrich received a sentence shorter than the mandatory minimum of 12 years after Judge Davidson Baptiste “cited exceptional circumstances” in his case, the Turks and Caicos Islands government said in a statement, according to ABC News.

Baptiste added that “the application of the mandatory minimum sentence would have been arbitrary and disproportionate and would not serve the public interest,” ABC News and CNN reported.

PEOPLE has contacted the Turks and Caicos Islands government for comment.

Wenrich previously said he forgot he had the ammunition in his possession while traveling to the Turks and Caicos Islands via cruise ship for a bachelor party, according to ABC News.

After his sentencing, the father of an 18-month-old son told reporters outside court that he was “relieved.”

“A weight has been lifted off my shoulders and off my wife, and I'm happy to be able to come home and be with my son again,” Wenrich said, according to NBC News.

Speaking to reporters, Wenrich called the court appearance “emotional.”

“Very emotional, because it's ups and downs because he's going through everything. We don't know if it's going one way or the other while he's reading everything, so, so teary-eyed every time I hear '18-month-old son,' and now I'm just relieved with the outcome,” he said, according to NBC News.

Wenrich's sentencing comes days after the release of Bryan Hagerich, a father of two who was arrested in Turks and Caicos in February after hunting ammunition was found in his checked luggage as he returned home from family vacation. Hagerich was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison and fined $6,700.

Ryan Watson of Oklahoma, Sharitta Grier of Florida and Michael Lee Evans of Texas were also charged with similar munitions in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

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While all three await sentencing, Watson and Grier remain in the Caribbean and Evans has been allowed to leave due to health concerns, ABC News reports.