Somerset man fined $6,700 and allowed to return home from Turks and Caicos | News

SOMERSET, Pa. — Once Bryan Hagerich pays a $6,700 fine, he will be able to return home to Somerset from the Turks and Caicos Islands, where a family vacation turned into a months-long detention with the possibility with a sentence of 12 years in prison.

He vacationed in the Turks and Caicos Islands in February but has been detained there since, awaiting court proceedings for allegedly violating the government's strict gun laws.

Hagerich was taken into custody on February 13 after shotgun shells were mistakenly left in his luggage – a “simple mistake” that he did not realize could lead to years in prison, he said. Hagerich previously told national media.

On Friday, Hagerich, who pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition in the Turks and Caicos Islands, was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a $6,700 fine, allowing him to leave the islands after paying the fine.

A husband and father of two, Hagerich is one of four Americans indicted in the Turks and Caicos Islands for transporting ammunition.

The Turks and Caicos government confirmed in early May that it had charged the American men for collectively transporting 33 rounds of ammunition, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement posted on social media in late April, the government said its islands “have clear laws prohibiting the possession of firearms and/or ammunition and strict penalties in order to serve and protect the community.”

Violating the law could result in a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison, although the government said that sentence could be reduced in “exceptional circumstances,” according to the Associated Press.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands a few days ago to meet with officials in the island territory.

“This is great news,” Fetterman said of the sentence in a statement Friday.

“Bryan is returning home to his family. It was an honor to meet Bryan and the other Americans detained at TCI this week. When we met with TCI officials a few days ago, they made it clear that they wanted the situation is resolved. They recognized that Bryan and the other Americans detained are not gun dealers – they are just people who made a mistake. I am grateful that the judge recognized that the right thing to do was. to send Bryan home.

Fetterman said he was also grateful to the U.S. State Department, which was a critical partner in bringing Hagerich home.

“I 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.”

Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said she was grateful to federal officials who worked to reunite Hagerich with his family.

“I am thrilled that the Hagerich family is finally reunited and thank the work of our federal officials, Senators (Bob) Casey and Fetterman and Congressman (Guy) Reschenthaler, for their efforts to secure his release.”

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, Republican of Washington, Deputy Leader of the 118th Congress, released a statement following Hagerich's release from the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“While I am pleased to see Bryan Hagerich return to Pennsylvania and reunite with his wife and two children, this terrifying situation should never have happened to him or to the four other Americans still awaiting sentencing,” said Reschenthaler. “As the Turks and Caicos Government works to manage future cases, the British territory must ensure the safety and well-being of American tourists. I will not rest until Americans can once again set foot on their islands without endangering their livelihoods.”