PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — An American arrested in the Caribbean for illegally transporting ammunition was given a suspended sentence Friday, according to a spokesman for the Turks and Caicos Islands, and his lawyer said he was flying back to the United States.
Bryan Hagerich was sentenced to one year, suspended and fined $6,700, said Kimo Tynes, communications director for Prime Minister C. Washington Misick and the Turks and Caicos government.
Hagerich, who lives in rural Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania, is one of five Americans facing similar ammunition-related criminal charges in the Turks and Caicos Islands while visiting the luxury tourist destination about 600 miles (965 kilometers) southeast from Miami.
The British territory passed stricter gun laws in 2022 after a rise in gun violence and arms trafficking. The U.S. State Department has warned travelers to Turks and Caicos to be vigilant about keeping guns and ammunition out of their luggage.
Tynes said Judge Tanya Lobban Jackson fined Hagerich $10,000 but reduced it based on his prior time in custody. Tynes said Hagerich was free to leave the island after paying the fine.
On Friday afternoon, Hagerich’s attorney Jonathan Franks texted The Associated Press to say he was on a flight to Pittsburgh with Hagerich and family members.
“I am very grateful to the Court for giving two very special children their father back,” Franks wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “Even more grateful are the numerous TCI nationals who have helped along the way.”
Franks told the AP that the judge’s decision was “exhaustively detailed and we appreciate the holistic approach she took to the case.”
In a statement, Misick said punishment has been served.
“The Firearms Act takes into account exceptional circumstances and today’s decision reflects our commitment to the independence of the judiciary, along with upholding the law,” Misick said, adding that “the law is unwavering and applies equally to all , without exception, applies.”
Hagerich previously pleaded guilty to possession of 20 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to an April 26 news release from the Directorate of Communications. He was released on bail.
U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania met with Hagerich and other Americans facing similar charges earlier this week.
“I am hopeful that TCI will expedite the remainder of these cases and that the other detained Americans will also soon be released and reunited with their families,” Fetterman said in a statement.
The governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia this month wrote a letter to the island’s governor on behalf of three of the indicted men who were from their states. They claimed that they had accidentally taken ammunition with them on holiday and that they had no firearms with them.
Another American arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Ryan Tyler Watson of Oklahoma, was there to celebrate birthdays, a relative wrote on a GoFundMe page seeking donations for his legal defense. He has posted bail but remains in that country with a hearing scheduled for June.
The Turks and Caicos government said the others arrested there were Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas; and Tyler Scott Wenrich, 31, of Virginia.
Evans pleaded guilty last month to possessing seven 9mm rounds of ammunition and has been released on bail, the island’s Communications Directorate said in late April.
A fifth American, Sharitta Shanise Grier, 45, of Orlando, Florida, was arrested in April for possession of ammunition at the airport, Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police said in a news release. Police said she was expected to appear in court in July.
Tynes, the government spokesman, said Grier and Watson were in court Friday for Hagerman’s sentencing.
