COCKBURN TOWN — U.S. lawmakers traveled to Turks and Caicos this week to push for the return of five American citizens detained on ammunition possession charges, but failed to facilitate their release.
The Americans were arrested in the last five months under a strict law in Turks and Caicos that prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition and carries a mandatory 12-year sentence.
One American, Michael Lee Evans, was jailed in December; Bryan Hagerich was arrested in February; and two Americans, Ryan Watson and Tyler Scott Wenrich, have been detained since April. The latest arrest occurred on May 13 when Sharitta Grier was jailed.
Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said a group of lawmakers “went in respectful” and “with an open mind looking to find common ground” during a meeting Monday with the Turks and Caicos government.
“Unfortunately, despite our willingness to work with Turks and Caicos officials to get our constituents home, we were not able to find a path forward today,” Mullin said Monday in a statement on X. “At this point, well-intentioned American citizens are facing a dozen years in prison all for unknowingly having one or two bullets in their luggage.”
Watson, 40, of Oklahoma, traveled to the islands with his wife, Valerie Watson, and two friends to celebrate his 40th birthday on April 7. The trip came to a screeching halt when airport staff found hunting ammunition in a carry-on case belonging to the couple.
“They were hunting ammunition rounds that I use for whitetail deer,” he told NBC Boston. “I recognized them, and I thought, ‘Oh, man, what a bonehead mistake that I had no idea that those were in there.'”
The couple was arrested but the charges were dropped against Valerie Watson. She later returned home to Oklahoma City.
Airport security also found ammunition in Hagerich’s luggage as he tried to board a flight with his family out of Turks and Caicos. Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, said he accidentally left it in his bag.
Wenrich, 31, of Virginia, was arrested after two 9 mm rounds were found in his bag after he tried to reboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship following a beach excursion, NBC Boston reported.
He told the news station that he had used the bag to go to the shooting range with friends and checked the bag before his trip.
“It was just a complete oversight on me, TSA and the port security,” he said. “Three groups missed that ammunition.”
Grier, 45, of Florida, said the ordeal has been a “nightmare.” She told NBC Boston that she took a trip to the islands for Mother’s Day weekend with her daughters.
Grier was arrested after security at the Howard Hamilton Airport in Providenciales found two bullets in her luggage, according to the station.
“It was an honest mistake, it fell up under the bottom of the flap in my carry-on,” she said. “There was no way possible that I could see it because it’s a flap in the bottom. They took the bottom of the flap out the bag. That’s where the two rounds was, in the bottom of that flap. So, it’s no way that I would of knew or seen them in there.”
The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas had warned travelers in September that authorities in Turks and Caicos strictly enforce laws related to firearms and ammunition.
Violators “are subject to TCI laws and must follow local law enforcement procedures” and the embassy “will not be able to secure your release from custody,” it said.
Mullin said the islands’ law has “unintended consequences.”
“We will stay at the table through this process until the issue is resolved,” he said in his statement.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined the lawmakers on the trip and said they had a chance to meet with the detained Americans.
“These people did not set out to break the law,” he said in a statement. “They are people who made a mistake and now face substantial time in prison because of it. As we articulated to TCI officials, I urge the court to be lenient when addressing this case.”
Fetterman said he left the meetings “optimistic that we can get this resolved.”
Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., said the lawmakers had a “diplomatic” discussion with Turks and Caicos government officials.
“I reiterated that with Turks and Caicos’ economy being 65 percent based on tourism, and with 80 percent of that coming from the United States, it is in their interest to ensure justice prevails,” Brecheen said in a post on X.
“We were emphatic that it would be unfathomable for five Americans, including Oklahoma’s own Ryan Watson, to face 12 years in prison for accidentally leaving a handful of shells in their luggage,” he continued.
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said in a post on X he is “very concerned” about the consequences the Americans face.
The governor’s office of Turks and Caicos said in a news release that “per the constitutional separation of the executive and judicial branches” Gov. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam and Honourable Premier Charles Washington Misick cannot intervene or comment on pending legal cases.
But the court can find that there are “exceptional circumstances” where a judge could “impose a custodial sentence and a fine that are fair and just in the circumstances of each case rather than impose the mandatory minimum,” the office said.
If the Americans are sentenced, Brecheen said the U.S. must “respond appropriately, using every economic tool in our toolbox.”
Evans, 72, of Texas, pleaded guilty to possessing seven 9 mm rounds of ammunition, according to authorities, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18.
Wenrich and Watson also have a court hearing in June, police said. Grier’s hearing is scheduled for July.
By MINYVONNE BURKE/NBC News
