Another American arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands on suspicion of possessing ammunition was sentenced to prison and a $9,000 fine on Tuesday, local media reported. Tyler Wenrich He could have faced a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison for possessing ammunition on British territory.
Wenrich was given a three-week prison sentence, which includes any time he has to serve before being released on bail, according to local media. He will be free to leave the island if he pays the fine by Sunday.
Leaving the courtroom with his wife, Jerian Wenrich, the Virginia paramedic and father said he felt relieved that his ordeal was nearing an end.
“It’s a huge weight off my wife and I’s shoulders and we’re happy to be home and with our son again,” Wenrich told Magnetic Media.
He said the incarceration was awful.
“The conditions were tough,” Wenrich said. “I don’t know what it’s like in other prisons, but it was emotional because I didn’t know what was going to happen and I was just trying to get through each day.”
He said he became emotional when the judge handed down the sentence during a hearing Tuesday morning, saying there were exceptional circumstances in the case and that a mandatory minimum sentence would not apply.
“There are ups and downs because he reads every article,” Wenrich said, “and you never know which way it’s going because he reads every article, so every time I heard the words ’18-month-old,’ I would cry. Now I’m just relieved with the outcome.”
He is scheduled to fly back to Virginia on Thursday. He was arrested in April after two 9mm rounds of ammunition were found in his backpack while he was trying to board a cruise ship. He pleaded guilty last week.
CBS News
Wenrich is the second American tourist convicted this month over ammunition found in his luggage. Brian Hagerich of Pennsylvania One year suspended sentence He was fined $6,700 on Friday after 20 rounds of rifle ammunition were found in his checked luggage in February.
Hagerich was out on bail for much of the trial, but was not allowed to return home while out on bail. Hours after leaving his sentencing hearing on the island with his wife, he returned to Pennsylvania and embraced their two children.
“This is the hardest time of my life,” Hagerich said. He told CBS News Pittsburgh “As a father and a provider, it’s difficult to accept being away from my family and no longer being an important part of their lives, but having them here now means everything.”
Hagerich is roommates with the third American to be arrested on similar charges: Ryan Watson, a father of two from Oklahoma, who was arrested in April after four hunting bullets were found in his carry-on luggage as he and his wife were leaving the island.
Watson is expected to plead guilty this week. His wife, Valerie Watson, said seeing Hagelich’s case resolved gives her hope for her husband.
“It’s really hard having him around,” Valerie Watson told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Chris Van Cleave. “The kids are fine. It’s a real struggle at times.”
Meanwhile, Florida grandmother Shalitta Greer is scheduled to go on trial in July after allegedly possessing two rounds of ammunition in her carry-on luggage while returning home from a surprise Mother’s Day getaway.
A fifth American, who was also recently indicted, was allowed to return home for health reasons.
