COCKBURN TOWN — The fate of a Pennsylvania man is being closely watched by others in similar situations as a judge will determine whether he will be imprisoned for bringing ammunition to an island nation with strict gun laws.
Bryan Hagerich, 39, has been detained in Turks and Caicos since February after he said he accidentally brought 20 rounds of ammunition in his luggage while on vacation with his wife and two children.
A judge held a hearing on his case Friday to determine whether Hagerich will face the mandatory minimum of 12 years behind bars under the strict gun law enacted by Turks and Caicos two years ago.
“I would never, ever knowingly come to a foreign country with any type of ammunition,” Hagerich told NBC News on April 24. “But I did recognize that it was ammunition that I’d use for for deer hunting back in Pennsylvania.”
The former professional baseball player, who was an outfielder at the University of Delaware drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2007, is one of four men awaiting judgment on similar charges.
Bryan Hagerich (TODAY)
What has happened to other Americans who violated the gun law in Turks & Caicos?
Turks and Caicos has already adjudicated five other cases of Americans charged with violating the gun law, finding exceptional circumstances in all five cases. Four of them received fines and were released, while one Indiana man pled guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison in September 2023.
Hagerich has been sharing a room with Ryan Watson, another American awaiting judgment. The Oklahoma man was celebrating his 40th birthday in the tropical nation with his wife and two other couples when he was detained at the airport for possession of ammunition.
Watson has not had his cased adjudicated yet, so he is waiting to see what happens to Hagerich.
“It’s probably the most critical day for all of us that are currently stuck on the island,” Hagerich told NBC News on April 27. “My fate is likely the fate of others as well.”
“We had no idea that that ammunition was in our bags,” Watson said.
Could the Americans detained in Turks & Caicos avoid jail time?
Prominent attorney Kristen Feden told NBC News correspondent Sam Brock on TODAY in an interview that aired May 3 that it’s possible the men could avoid jail time.
“Are they first time offenders? Was it a small amount of ammunition? Are those things taken into consideration? Absolutely,” Feden said. “But at the end of the day, failing to know what is contained in one’s luggage is not a justification for violating any foreign law.”
The Turks and Caicos law says those visiting do not have a constitutional right to carry firearms and that all weapons are strictly forbidden unless there is explicit permission.
Hagerich is hoping the judge will be swayed by his character and his claim that it was an accident that the ammunition was in his bag.
“I’ve been nothing but cooperative throughout the whole time here,” he said on April 24. “Honesty, integrity — that’s me as a father, as a parent.”
“It’s a place that we love, we’ve been numerous times, we respect the culture, we respect the people there, we respect the island, and it’s a place that’s been so special for us, so for something like this to happen, just honestly seems so unimaginable,” Hagerich’s wife, Ashley Hagerich, told NBC affiliate WPXI in April.
By SCOTT STUMP and SAM BROCK/Associated Press
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
