A father of two from Pennsylvania has finally been sentenced in the Turks and Caicos Islands after being detained on the island for more than three months because cluster munitions were found in his luggage.
Related: American tourist sentenced to 12 years in prison on the Turks and Caicos Islands after 4 rounds of hunting ammunition were found in his bag
Bryan Hagerich was given He was sentenced to 52 months’ probation and fined $6,500, but his spokesman said he would be allowed to return home soon.
He is one of five Americans awaiting release on similar charges. The group is actually living in the same apartment while awaiting sentencing. The other Americans are Ryan Watson, 40, of Oklahoma; Sharitta Grier, 45, of Florida; Tyler Wenrich, 31, of Virginia; and Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas.
Wenrich is the father of a one-year-old boy and admits his mistake, but believes that the existing systems should be better to prevent such a thing:
“Everyone makes mistakes,” he said. “And that was it for all of us. And we just have to be clear about what we’re traveling with. And I think some of our systems need to be in cahoots to have a better fail-safe in case something like this happens.”
He currently faces a minimum sentence of 12 years unless his lawyers can convince the judge that his arrest occurred under exceptional circumstances.
Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, and Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin wrote a letter to the governor of Turks and Caicos Islands, Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, and called on her to release the Americans:
“This makes no sense at all. This punishment is disproportionate to the crime,” Republican Rep. Stitt told Fox News Digital. “These people left the country. There was no intent. They didn’t mean to harm anyone. They didn’t use weapons. I want to make sure everyone knows: There were no weapons.”
In their letter, they highlighted tourism on the island as an attraction for many Americans:
“Like thousands of Americans each year, these individuals recently traveled to your beautiful territory for their own pleasure,” the governors wrote in a joint letter obtained by Fox News Digital. “They all emphasized that they did not intend to bring ammunition to the Turks and Caicos Islands and that the ammunition they unknowingly left in their luggage was the result of lawful conduct in the United States. To our knowledge, none of them were carrying firearms.”
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania argued convincingly that until these cases are resolved, the U.S. should impose a travel ban on the islands that would even prevent cruise ships from docking there. It would also prevent people from buying travel insurance:
“Their economy is largely based on tourism, well over 70%. And 86% of the tourists are Americans,” said Reschenthaler. “So all we have to do is issue a travel ban. [order] and bring down their economy overnight. And hopefully we can get the Americans released and force the Turks and Caicos Islands to change this law.”
Wenrich has no sentencing date yet. His family is waiting, as are the others. Hagerich’s easygoing sentence offers some hope, but it may not be enough to make Americans feel protected traveling there again. If the Turks and Caicos Islands want American tourists, they need to rethink this harsh law and resolve these cases quickly.
