Brian McDonald
Another American tourist was detained for carrying ammunition in his luggage at the Turks and Caicos airport on Monday, weeks after the detention of an American tourist in the Caribbean made national headlines.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police told CBS News that “a visitor was arrested yesterday at Howard Hamilton International Airport [May 13th] after ammunition was allegedly found during a routine security check.” Police did not provide further details about the name or gender of the person arrested.
Monday’s arrest raised the total number of Americans facing charges for possession of ammunition in British territory to five. Four of the detained Americans said they brought the ammunition – but by mistake.
Ryan Watson, a 40-year-old Oklahoma father of two, made national headlines after ammunition was found in his luggage by airport security in April. He is currently free on bail – although confined to the island while his case progresses – and authorities require him to report to the Grace Bay Police Station every Tuesday and Thursday. He faces a possible mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 years.
A few days after Watson’s arrest, Tyler Wenrich, 30 years old, a Virginia paramedic and father, was detained before boarding a cruise ship on April 20. He faces a possible 12-year sentence after authorities allegedly found two bullets in his luggage last month.
“I feel like, as a very honest mistake, that 12 years is absurd,” his wife, Jeriann Wenrich, told CBS News in April, who said she doesn’t want to see her 18-month-old son grow up without a father.
Bryan Hagerich is another American awaiting trial after ammunition was found in the Pennsylvania man’s checked suitcase in February. “I later spent eight nights in the local jail,” Hagerich told CBS News. “Some of the darkest, hardest moments of my life, frankly.”
Possessing a gun or ammunition is prohibited in Turks and Caicos, but previously tourists could only pay a fine. That changed in February, when a court order required even tourists to face mandatory prison time in addition to paying a fine. The territory’s attorney general said if a court finds there were exceptional circumstances surrounding the discovery of ammunition, the sentencing judge will have discretion to impose a prison sentence of less than 12 years.
Eight firearms and ammunition cases involving tourists from the United States have been filed on the island since November 2022.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory in April urging Americans traveling to Turks and Caicos to “carefully check their luggage for lost ammunition or forgotten weapons before departing the United States,” noting that “declaring a weapon in your luggage with an airline does not grant permission to bring the weapon into the Turks and Caicos Islands and will result in your arrest.”
“U.S. gun owners may want to consider the actions of the Turks and Caicos Islands before risking a trip to the Caribbean jurisdiction,” the National Rifle Association said in a statement. a press release Monday. “Even U.S. gun owners, confident in their ability to clear their baggage of any potential contraband, may want to consider the wisdom of spending their money in a jurisdiction that would treat their countrymen this way.”
—Elizabeth Campbell, Kris Van Cleave and Alex Sundby contributed reporting.
