Pennsylvania dad detained in Turks and Caicos will finally return home after paying fine
2024-05-27
Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvania father of two and former professional baseball player, pled guilty to having ammunition in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and was sentenced to 52 months of suspended jail time by a Turks and Caicos judge on Friday morning.
Bryan Hagerich spent three-and-a-half months in Turks and Caicos while waiting for his case to be processed. (Hagerich family)Photo byFacebook
Hagerich, 39, is one of five Americans who have been detained and arrested since February on the islands for carrying stray ammunition in their luggage, a violation that carries a maximum 12-year sentence in TCI.
The others are Tyler Wenrich, 31, of Virginia; Ryan Watson, 40, of Oklahoma; Sharitta Grier, 45, of Florida; and Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas.
Additionally, Hagerich was mandated to pay a $6,500 fine.
"He will be released shortly," Hagerich's spokesperson, Jonathan Franks, said in a Friday tweet.
"From the day that I was arrested, the end goal was to get off the island and go home to my family. To think that that day is potentially tomorrow, it's every emotion under the sun," Hagerich said on Thursday to Fox News.
He also added that he and his attorneys "made a very, very strong case" in his defense after he pleaded guilty.
From left to right: Michael Lee Evans (no photo), Bryan Hagerich, Tyler Wenrich, Ryan Watson and Sharitta GrierPhoto byYahoo news
On Friday, a number of politicians praised the judge's ruling. In a Friday post on X, Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania Bob Casey declared that Hagerich's suspended sentence is "great news".
"I’m grateful that the authorities in Turks and Caicos exercised leniency and that Bryan Hagerich will soon be on his way home to his family in Somerset," Casey wrote in the post.
Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, expressed his happiness that Bryan Hagerich will be reunited with his wife and two children upon his release, but said that "this terrifying situation should have never happened to him, or the four other Americans still awaiting sentencing."
"As the Turks and Caicos government works to handle future cases, the British territory must ensure the safety and wellbeing of U.S. tourists. I won’t rest until Americans can once again set foot on their islands without putting their livelihoods at risk," the congressman expressed.
The "excellent news" was also praised by Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman, a Democrat.
"When we met with TCI officials a few days ago, they made clear that they wanted this situation resolved. They recognized that Bryan and the other detained Americans are not gunrunners, and 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. "I'm also grateful to the U.S. State Department, which has been a critical partner in bringing Bryan home. I'm hopeful that TCI expedites the rest of these cases and that the other detained Americans will soon be released and reunited with their families as well."
While they wait for their separate outcomes on the island, Hagerich, Watson, and Grier have been residing in the same condo.
Although the circumstances of each of the five cases are slightly different, they were all five arrested on the way home when security found ammunition in their bags.
In one of the compartments of the big suitcase his family had packed for a vacation, Hagerich had stray ammunition from a hunting trip long ago. "I never in a million years thought I'd be in Turks and Caicos for over 100 days for a simple mistake," Hagerich said.
Watson's carry-on bag contained stray ammunition that had been left over from a hunting excursion. Grier recently bought a gun for her own personal safety, and there were stray rounds in the inside of her bag. She stated to Fox News Digital that she occasionally closes her brother's store at night and that she wanted a gun in case of emergency.
"No intention to hurt anybody or anything. I'm afraid of it myself. It's nothing to play around with," Grier stated, she also said that she "had no other reason" to own a gun other than for her own protection while closing her brother's store. Grier stated that she has never fired a gun "in her life."
Wenrich further stated to Fox News that he had no plan to smuggle firearms onto the islands and was unaware that he had two bullets in his travel backpack until they were discovered by security.
Reschenthaler stated on Thursday that he is trying to push the State Department to issue a no-travel order to TCI, which would prevent cruise ships from docking on the islands and prevent people from purchasing traveler's insurance.
The congressman who notes that the majority of Americans who visit the islands are from Texas, Florida, and Virginia, is also considering imposing a levy on American imports into TCI or imposing no-travel orders from particular states.
"None of them had a firearm, by the way. They had these rounds of ammunition just left haphazardly and accidentally in carry-on duffel bags," the congressman said.
The "draconian" legislation, he continued, portrays Americans in possession of extra ammunition "as if they're some kind of weapons smuggler or gun runner."
On Monday, a congressional delegation from both parties traveled to TCI with the request that the Americans who were arrested for carrying stray ammunition in their backpacks be released.
A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation visited TCI officials on Monday to discuss the arrests of five AmericansPhoto byYahoo news
"The U.S. delegation raised five cases of U.S. nationals currently before the courts, concern for their well-being and clarification on the legal process," the TCI Governor's Office stated in a statement on Monday. "In order to maintain the integrity of the legal process, the Governor confirmed it would not be appropriate to facilitate the delegation’s request to meet with the Chief Justice."
" We cannot intervene nor comment on ongoing legal cases before the courts," the statement continued. "The Turks and Caicos Islands have clear laws prohibiting the possession of firearms and/or ammunition and strict penalties are in place to serve and protect all who reside and visit the Turks and Caicos Islands."
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