Pennsylvania’s Brian Hagerich returns home after arrest in Turks and Caicos

The other Americans detained are Ryan Watson, 40, from Oklahoma, Shalitta Greer, 45, from Florida, Tyler Wenrich, 31, from Virginia, and Michael Lee Evans, 72, from Texas.

“It’s amazing to think back to where we were 12 years ago in just 12 hours,” Hagerich told reporters Friday night after arriving in Pittsburgh. “It’s just such a relief because my biggest concern is coaching my kids’ baseball games tomorrow.”

Hagerich said his time in detention and separated from his family was “the most difficult time of my life.”

“As a father, as a provider, to not be able to fulfill that role in your family’s life is very difficult to accept,” he said.

He said conditions in custody had been “tough” and those were the “darkest days” of his life.

While he said he was grateful to be home, he stressed there are other Americans still detained on the island and that “they will be coming home soon.”

A judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday morning gave Hagerich a suspended 52-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition on the islands. He was also fined $6,500.

Haegerich told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he and his legal team “mounted a very strong defense” after pleading guilty.

Several lawmakers praised the move to free Hagelich from insular custody and allow him to return to his family in Pennsylvania.

A bipartisan congressional delegation visited TCI on Monday to urge government leaders to release Americans who were detained for possessing stray ammunition in their bags.

“This is great news,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, said in a statement. “Brian will be returning home to his family. It has been an honor to meet with him and the other detained Americans at TCI this week.”

“When I met with TCI officials a few days ago, they made it clear they wanted this situation resolved,” Fetterman continued. “They recognized that Brian and the other detained Americans are not gun traffickers, but simply people who made mistakes. We are grateful that the judge recognized that it was right to bring Brian home. We are also grateful to the U.S. State Department, which was a critical partner in bringing Brian home.”

Fetterman also said he hopes TCI will quickly process the cases of other detained Americans so they too can be released soon and reunite with their families.

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler said that while he was “overjoyed” to see Haigerich return to Pennsylvania and reunite with his wife and children, “this horrific situation should never have happened to him or the four other Americans who are still awaiting sentencing.”

“As the Turks and Caicos Islands Government works to respond to future incidents, the British Territory must ensure the safety and health of American visitors. I will not rest until Americans can once again set foot on the islands without putting their livelihoods at risk,” the congressman said.

Haegerich said he was “forever grateful” for the efforts of lawmakers campaigning for his release, including the delegation that visited the island on Friday night.

“I never in a thousand years expected to get this kind of support,” Hagelich said.

While there are slight differences in the cases of the five Americans, all five were arrested on their way home after security discovered ammunition in their luggage.

In one of the compartments of the large suitcases that Haegerich’s family had packed for the family vacation, there was ammunition from a previous hunting trip.

Watson’s carry-on bag had ammunition left over from a hunting trip in the lining, while Greer had recently purchased a firearm for self-defense and found a stray bullet in the lining of his own bag.

Wenrich similarly said he had no intention of bringing the ammunition onto the island, and was unaware he had two bullets in his travel backpack until a security guard found them.

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.