Current:Home > MyArrests of US tourists in Turks and Caicos for carrying ammunition prompts plea from three governors-InfoLens
Arrests of US tourists in Turks and Caicos for carrying ammunition prompts plea from three governors
View Date:2024-12-23 17:12:17
Five Americans are facing prison sentences of up to 12 years in the Turks and Caicos Islands on charges they illegally carried ammunition during recent trips to the popular, upscale tourist destination about 600 miles (965 km) southeast of Miami.
Three of the arrests have prompted pleas for mercy from the governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In a letter Tuesday to the islands’ governor, they said the three men charged from their states maintained they inadvertently took ammunition with them on vacation. They did not have firearms.
“The punishment here is just absurd,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” during an appearance on May 7. He suggested the U.S. consider banning travel to the islands.
Here’s a look at the arrests and their fallout:
WHO ARE THE FIVE PEOPLE FACING CHARGES?
One of the men, Ryan Tyler Watson, of Oklahoma, went to the Turks and Caicos with his wife and other couples to celebrate several people’s 40th birthdays, his sister, Jessica Byrd, said on a GoFundMe page she set up to raise money for his legal defense.
As Watson and his wife were heading home in April, airport security found four rounds of ammunition that had been unknowingly left in a duffel bag from a deer hunting trip, according to the page. Watson’s wife, Valerie, was released and returned home. He made bail, but remains on the islands, with a hearing scheduled for June.
The Turks and Caicos government has identified the three other men as: Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas; Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania; and Tyler Scott Wenrich, 31, of Virginia.
Evans had a court hearing in April and has pleaded guilty to possessing seven 9mm rounds of ammunition, and Hagerich pleaded guilty to possessing 20 rounds of rifle ammunition and was scheduled to be back in court on May 3, according to an April 26 news release from the Communications Directorate. The release said Evans and Hagerich were also on bail.
The fifth American, Sharitta Shanise Grier, 45, of Orlando, Florida, was arrested Monday during a routine search at the airport, the Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police said in a news release posted to X on Thursday. She was charged with one count of possession of ammunition and was due back in court in July, the release said.
WHY ARE THE AMERICANS FACING 12 YEARS IN PRISON?
The British territory significantly tightened its gun laws in 2022 following a jump in gun violence and weapons trafficking. The strict penalties were meant to protect the community by deterring gun crimes, the government has said.
In gun and ammunition cases, courts have sentencing discretion for “exceptional circumstances,” but they cannot limit punishment to a fine with no prison term, the country’s Court of Appeal ruled in February. That means the Americans may not get 12 years in prison, but they also likely won’t be able to pay a fine and return home.
WHAT HAS THE TURKS AND CAICOS GOVERNMENT SAID?
A woman who answered the phone Thursday for the Office of Premier C. Washington Misick, the head of Turks and Caicos’ government, said she could not comment on any pending cases. She declined to give her name, but took a message that was not immediately returned. An email to the office was also not immediately returned.
The country’s former premier, Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, defended tougher gun penalties in a May 13 editorial in the local Sun newspaper.
“The mandatory 12 years may appear harsh to persons, but in this climate, deciding what is just, is not easy,” she wrote, noting the country was experiencing “senseless killings in broad daylight, violent gangs and innocent bystanders being shot and sometimes killed in their own home.”
WHAT HAVE OFFICIALS IN THE U.S. SAID?
The U.S. State Department has urged travelers to the Turks and Caicos to exercise increased caution because of crime, including avoiding walking alone at night. It has also warned them to be vigilant about guns and ammunition in their luggage.
In a bulletin issued in September 2023 and again in April, it alerted travelers of the potential 12-year sentence and told them to carefully check their bags for stray ammunition or forgotten weapons.
“If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, we will not be able to secure your release from custody,” the September alert said.
In their letter on Tuesday, the governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia called on Turks and Caicos to reconsider the charges against Hagerich, Wenrich and Watson and expedite their release. Doing so will “create the necessary recognition of your laws that will impact the future actions of travelers and continue our mutual interest in justice and goodwill between our jurisdictions,” the letter said.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida questioned why Americans would travel to the islands in a post Wednesday on X that included a news story about Grier’s arrest. The post urged the State Department to demand the release of the Americans.
veryGood! (539)
Related
- Pedro Pascal's Sister Lux Pascal Debuts Daring Slit on Red Carpet at Gladiator II Premiere
- Whatever happened to the Malawian anti-plastic activist inspired by goats?
- Juul will pay nearly $440 million to settle states' investigation into teen vaping
- A high rate of monkeypox cases occur in people with HIV. Here are 3 theories why
- Voters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term
- Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Instagram account has been restored
- Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?
- Congress Opens Arctic Wildlife Refuge to Drilling, But Do Companies Want In?
- Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
- With early Alzheimer's in the family, these sisters decided to test for the gene
Ranking
- Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
- A news anchor showed signs of a stroke on air, but her colleagues caught them early
- Life Kit: How to 'futureproof' your body and relieve pain
- An E. coli outbreak possibly linked to Wendy's has expanded to six states
- Caitlin Clark shanks tee shot, nearly hits fans at LPGA's The Annika pro-am
- U.S. Military Not Doing Enough to Prepare Bases for Climate Change, GAO Warns
- What’s Worrying the Plastics Industry? Your Reaction to All That Waste, for One
- Traffic Deaths Are At A 20-Year High. What Makes Roads Safe (Or Not)?
Recommendation
-
AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
-
The Truth About Queen Camilla's Life Before She Ended Up With King Charles III
-
Emily Ratajkowski Says She’s Waiting to Date the Right Woman in Discussion About Her Sexuality
-
Life Kit: How to 'futureproof' your body and relieve pain
-
Zendaya Shares When She Feels Extra Safe With Boyfriend Tom Holland
-
Apple event: What to know about its Vision Pro virtual reality headset release
-
The top White House monkeypox doc takes stock of the outbreak — and what's next
-
FDA authorizes first revamp of COVID vaccines to target omicron