4 US Tourists arrested in Turks and Caicos for Inadvertently bringing in ammo

[Bill]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turks-a...facetime-kids/

Now there's 4 of them arrested, the oldest, apparently, is a 72 year old guy. They all face 12 years in prison for that mistake.

American tourist facing prison in Turks and Caicos over ammunition says he's soaking up FaceTime with his kids back home

By Alex Sundby

Updated on: April 29, 2024 / 3:15 PM EDT / CBS News

An American tourist who's facing over a decade behind bars in the Turks and Caicos islands after ammunition was found in his luggage said Monday he's trying to FaceTime with his children back home as much as possible in case he ultimately goes to prison.

"I've been told that there's, you know, quite a bit of restricted communication while you're in prison, and so I'm just trying to soak up as much of that as I can," Ryan Watson, a 40-year-old father of two from Oklahoma, told CBS News.

Watson is out on bail, but he said he can't leave the country and has to check in at a local police station twice a week. He's facing a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars.

Tourists aren't allowed to possess guns or ammunition in Turks and Caicos. They've been allowed to pay a fine in the past, but a court order in February mandated that tourists be subjected to prison time.

"It's something that I'm deeply, deeply sorry for," Watson said Monday. "I completely respect their laws and, you know, stand behind what they're trying to accomplish with their gun laws, but I just still pray that there's some consideration that there was zero intent behind this and this was 100% a mistake and an accident."

Watson said he didn't intend to break any laws while visiting the country with his wife earlier this month.

"I don't see how imprisoning me is going to help them in any way, you know, but, yeah, that's not my decision to make unfortunately," he told CBS News.

Watson was arrested April 12 when four rounds of hunting ammunition were found in his carry-on luggage as he and his wife Valerie Watson were trying to head home after a vacation in the British territory. Valerie Watson isn't facing charges and returned to the couple's 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter in Oklahoma last week.


Watson earlier told CBS News the ammunition may have been left in his bag after he went to Texas on a hunting trip. The Transportation Security Administration acknowledged its officers missed it when the Watsons went through security in Oklahoma City at the start of their trip to Turks and Caicos.

Watson is one of several Americans who have been detained in the territory in recent months under similar circumstances. Michael Grim from Indiana served almost six months in prison after pleading guilty to having ammunition in his checked bag.

"No clean running water. You're kind of exposed to the environment 24/7," he told CBS News. "Mosquitoes and tropical illnesses are a real concern."

Watson hopes the U.S. State Department will help find a resolution for all the Americans whose cases are pending in Turks and Caicos.

"It's tearing families apart right now," he said, "and I've got two kids at home that- their little hearts don't understand what's going on."

I recall when Trump was president, he got our people back in situations like this, Paul Wheelan a notable exception, of course. He got the shoplifting b-ball homeboys back, got the N. Korean hostages back, and even got the rapper back from Sweden, sending our official hostage negotiator....to Sweden. As I recall, he also got either a active duty soldier, or maybe he was a vet, back from Mexico after doing the same thing....driving into Mexico with a few rounds of ammo rolling around in the floorboards of his truck, something commonplace in Texas.

[slewfoot]

Stupid asses need to pay more attention to detail. You do not go to any country and test the waters. Leave them there for a few months and maybe they'll get the drift

No sympathy from me

[Bill]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

Stupid asses need to pay more attention to detail. You do not go to any country and test the waters. Leave them there for a few months and maybe they'll get the drift

No sympathy from me

How did you feel about homegirl the b-baller getting imprisoned in Russia for having pot 'vape cartridges?'

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

Stupid asses need to pay more attention to detail. You do not go to any country and test the waters. Leave them there for a few months and maybe they'll get the drift

No sympathy from me

While I agree a traveler to another country, any country, should pay attention to details (like their laws) he wasn't trying to "test the waters," which implies he knew about the ammo. Stupid comment is stupid.

[Bruze]

There was a movie made probably in the '80s about a guy who tried smuggling some drug into Turkey and was caught. I watched it in 1990.

All I remember of it was the scene where the captors had an electric drill and drilled a hole into the side of his knee.

I was at this hot 33 year-old girl's house (her two kids were there ) and couldn't concentrate too well on the movie.

I didn't get in her pants that night, but did a week or two later.

[This is the Barn Sex Forum . . . right? ]

[KenHorse]

Originally Posted by Bruze

There was a movie made probably in the '80s about a guy who tried smuggling some drug into Turkey and was caught. I watched it in 1990.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm2gmKOOawg

[ft laud mike]

Originally Posted by Bill

How did you feel about homegirl the b-baller getting imprisoned in Russia for having pot 'vape cartridges?'

That was great, because it is a flaming pile of dogshit who hates the US

[Frankie the Fink]

Originally Posted by Bill

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turks-a...facetime-kids/

Now there's 4 of them arrested, the oldest, apparently, is a 72 year old guy. They all face 12 years in prison for that mistake.




I recall when Trump was president, he got our people back in situations like this, Paul Wheelan a notable exception, of course. He got the shoplifting b-ball homeboys back, got the N. Korean hostages back, and even got the rapper back from Sweden, sending our official hostage negotiator....to Sweden. As I recall, he also got either a active duty soldier, or maybe he was a vet, back from Mexico after doing the same thing....driving into Mexico with a few rounds of ammo rolling around in the floorboards of his truck, something commonplace in Texas.

And he didn't trade the "Merchant of Death" to do any of that....I mean, really, who would do that ?

[NoOne]

We cross the border a lot, 3-4 times a month and we always check the car.

If you spend a decent amount of time at the range, after 4-5 trips, you will almost always have loose ammo in the trunk or wherever you transport.

I also would never use the same bag for 2 different things like that.

[Bill]

This guy was a cruise ship passenger getting back on the ship, when Royal Caribbean found 2 rounds of 9mm in his backpack, that he had obviously boarded the ship with, then R.C. took him and the two rounds TO Turks and Caicos, he exited the ship, then got back ON the ship, and THAT'S when they found the two rounds and turned him in to the local police.

Douchebag move on R.C.'s part. isn't the screening done right at the dock? How hard would it have been to have an "oops" moment? "Dude, just casually drop those two rounds in the water on your way into the boat. Tell anyone who says anything you tossed a couple quarters in the water for good luck."

https://www.nbcboston.com/investigat...rests/3363353/

‘It's definitely a nightmare': US tourist speaks for first time since arrest in Turks and Caicos islands
Tyler Wenrich is the latest American arrested on the Islands of Turks and Caicos for possession of ammunition.
By Leslie Gaydos • Published May 8, 2024 • Updated on May 9, 2024 at 5:06 pm
NBC Universal, Inc.

Tyler Wenrich is the latest American arrested on the Islands of Turks and Caicos for possession of ammunition. He spoke exclusively to NBC10 Boston about the experience.

In his first interview since being arrested on April 20, Tyler Wenrich is sharing his story of arrest and detention on the islands of Turks and Caicos on charges of possession of ammunition.

“I can almost not wrap my head around it still, and I'm living in it. You know, it's hard to. It's hard to believe that it's happening. And it's definitely a nightmare,” Wenrich told NBC10 Boston’s Leslie Gaydos.

The 31-year-old has been on Grand Turk Island since his arrest over two weeks ago after two 9mm rounds were found in his bag as he tried to reboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship after a beach excursion.

“I've used that bag to go to the shooting range with friends and to carry my firearm in the past. So it was, you know, I checked it before I left, and it was just a complete oversight on me. TSA and, the port security, you know, three groups missed that ammunition,” said Wenrich.
After our series of reports on Americans detained on Turks and Caicos for possession of ammunition, U.S. officials say they will investigate how it made it through airport checkpoints in the first place.

Wenrich posted bail last week pending a court hearing. He told Gaydos that Royal Caribbean security turned him over to Turks and Caicos authorities. NBC10 Boston reached out to Royal Caribbean about the incident and has not heard back.

“I spent, about three nights, in the jail and then I moved to the prison for about nine nights. It was extremely difficult,” said Wenrich. “The conditions were difficult but the people were more phenomenal, which helped.”

“It was still a very it was a very hard situation to be in,” shared Wenrich. “It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.”

It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.
Tyler Wenrich

Wenrich is a paramedic and said it has been hard being away from his wife and 1 1/2-year-old son, who live back in Virginia.

“They're not doing great. You know, my son's having trouble sleeping that night… something's wrong,” shared Wenrich. “He's old enough to know there's something wrong and my wife is trying to do the best she can.”

Wenrich said that while his wife has a strong support system it has been hard having him thousands of miles away living in uncertainty.

Wenrich is now living on the island with his father as his case moves through the courts. He said the situation has taken an emotional and financial toll.

“Tens of thousands of dollars that we're facing and just trying to survive here and legal fees," he explained.

He and his family have set up a crowdfunding website to help cover legal fees and expenses while he awaits his fate.

Bryan Hagerich of Pennsylvania and Ryan Watson of Oklahoma both pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition after bullets were found in their bags when they tried to board flights home after vacations on the island earlier this year. Hagerich will be sentenced May 29 and Watson will be in court next month. NBC10 Boston was the first to break the story of their detainment.

His story rings true to me. I use the same bag at the range that I use for overnight travel, generally by car. I've found a round or two while feeling around for a razor or toothbrush. It happens.

Yes, the safe play would be to have a designated range bag that isn't used for any other purpose, but think about it.....men are practical. We don't typically buy more than we need. It's not like we're buying different purses for different outfits. Dude has a backpack, dude is taking a cruise, he's probably not going to buy another backpack to take when he has a perfectly good one already.

The Turks and Caicos is a British colony, and they can enforce whatever draconian laws they want. The getting caught having ammo thing used to be, "pay a big fine and GTFO." OK, reasonable. They changed the law to add hefty jail time.

The US government could be doing more to help these people. Tourism is probably a big part of their economy. Threatening to blackball their islands from US tourists might get their attention. So they get their pound of flesh out of this guy. How's it going to feel when the US departing ships simply no longer stop there? Their own businesses will be clamoring for the law's punishment to be changed back to fine only.

[Steve_R]

The guy is 100% at fault. Now he’s started a crowdfunding site asking people he doesn’t know to pay for his ****up. It’s a weird world we live in.

[Bill]

YouTube

Guy will pay a $ 6,700 fine, gets a one year suspended sentence, so as soon as he pays the fine, he gets to go home.

Judge finds the mandatory sentence guidelines to be inappropriate for this guy. I'm glad his nightmare is over.

[BRUIZER]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

Stupid asses need to pay more attention to detail. You do not go to any country and test the waters. Leave them there for a few months and maybe they'll get the drift

No sympathy from me

Ohhh the f'ing irony!
You support the political party that doesn't gaf about "the law" while allowing their own cities and f'ing border to be overrun by criminals.

To put it as nice as I can; you are not very bright.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

Stupid asses need to pay more attention to detail. You do not go to any country and test the waters. Leave them there for a few months and maybe they'll get the drift

No sympathy from me

That is a horrible position to have.

[slewfoot]

So today, it looks like one of them is coming home from a suspended sentence. Maybe that Judge is concerned this will put a damper on tourism.

[slewfoot]

Originally Posted by BRUIZER

Ohhh the f'ing irony!
You support the political party that doesn't gaf about "the law" while allowing their own cities and f'ing border to be overrun by criminals.

To put it as nice as I can; you are not very bright.

So, how's things way the fk up in Idaho? Interesting how you spew out your thoughts trying to make it a narrative I fall under. Get a clue dude

[LATB]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

So, how's things way the fk up in Idaho? Interesting how you spew out your thoughts trying to make it a narrative I fall under. Get a clue dude

Where is he wrong?

[slewfoot]

I am not a one-sided party line slurpee. I said let him spend a few months and they will get the drift. I wouldn't even screw with Canada let alone most anywhere else.

I used to go into Canada pre 9/11. Entering was a "hi and a wave." returning back into the US from Canada was an hour long emptying of my car, luggage wallets, the whole enchilada.

These 4-5 people have done their time. You're a guest in a foreign country whether it is regular travel spots like Turks, Cancun or SE Asia areas. They don't fk around.

Seems that Judge realizes if these people spend years in prison, tourism is all but dead. The point has been made by Turks.

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

So today, it looks like one of them is coming home from a suspended sentence. Maybe that Judge is concerned this will put a damper on tourism.

I think that might have been a big factor!

[LATB]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

I am not a one-sided party line slurpee. I said let him spend a few months and they will get the drift. I wouldn't even screw with Canada let alone most anywhere else.

I used to go into Canada pre 9/11. Entering was a "hi and a wave." returning back into the US from Canada was an hour long emptying of my car, luggage wallets, the whole enchilada.

These 4-5 people have done their time. You're a guest in a foreign country whether it is regular travel spots like Turks, Cancun or SE Asia areas. They don't fk around.

Seems that Judge realizes if these people spend years in prison, tourism is all but dead. The point has been made by Turks.

Actually you kinda are.