American returns home after receiving suspended sentence for possession of ammunition in Turks and Caicos Islands

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (AP) — An American man arrested in the Caribbean for illegally transporting ammunition was given a suspended sentence Friday, according to a Turks and Caicos Islands spokesman, and his spokesman said that he was returning to the United States.

Bryan Hagerich was given a one-year suspended sentence and fined $6,700, said Kimo Tynes, communications director for Premier C. Washington Misick and the Turks and Caicos Government.

Hagerich, who lives in rural Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania, is among five Americans who face similar criminal charges related to munitions in the Turks and Caicos Islands while visiting the top tourist destination range located approximately 965 km southeast of Miami.

The British territory passed stricter gun laws in 2022 following a rise in gun violence and arms trafficking. The US State Department has warned travelers to the Turks and Caicos Islands to be vigilant and keep guns and ammunition out of their luggage.

His attorney, Oliver A. Smith, said that if Hagerich doesn't get into trouble in the coming year, he won't have to serve time. He paid the fine, Smith said.

“He couldn’t wait to go home, to be reunited with his two children. He’s happy this is all behind him,” Smith said, adding that Hagerich was remorseful and simply forgot the ammunition was in his luggage when it was found while he was leaving the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Hagerich spokesman Jonathan Franks texted The Associated Press Friday afternoon to say he was taking a flight to Pittsburgh with Hagerich and members of his family.

“Very grateful to the Court for returning two very special children to their father,” Franks wrote in a post on the social media platform process.”

Franks told the AP that the judge's decision “was exhaustively detailed and we appreciate the holistic approach she took in the case.”

In a statement, Misick said justice was served through punishment.

“The Firearms Act takes into account exceptional circumstances and today's decision reflects our commitment to judicial independence and respect for the law,” Misick said, adding that “the law remains firm and s 'applies to everyone equally, without exception'.

Hagerich had previously pleaded guilty to possessing 20 shotgun shells, according to an April 26 news release from the Department of Communications. He was out on bail.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania met with Hagerich and other Americans facing similar charges earlier this week.

“It is my hope that TCI will expedite the processing of the remainder of these cases and that the remaining detained Americans will soon be released and reunited with their families as well,” Fetterman said in a statement.

The governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia wrote to the islands' governor this month on behalf of three of the indicted men from their states. They claimed they had mistakenly taken ammunition with them on vacation and had no firearms.

Another American arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Ryan Tyler Watson of Oklahoma, was there to celebrate his birthday, a relative wrote on a GoFundMe page seeking donations for his legal defense. He has been granted bail but remains in this country with a hearing scheduled for June.

The Turks and Caicos Islands government said the others arrested in that area are Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas; and Tyler Scott Wenrich, 31, of Virginia.

Evans pleaded guilty last month to possessing seven 9mm cartridges and was released on bail, the island's communications directorate announced in late April.

A fifth American woman, Sharitta Shanise Grier, 45, of Orlando, Florida, was arrested for possession of ammunition in April at the airport, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police said in a news release. Police said she was due in court in July.

Tynes, the government spokesman, said Grier and Watson were present in the courtroom Friday for Hagerman's sentencing.

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This story has been corrected to show that Franks is Hagerich's spokesperson, not his lawyer.