Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvania man who was arrested in February in Turks and Caicos for having ammunition in his luggage before being released, criticized the U.S. State Department for not doing enough to help Americans abroad.
“Which side of the table are they on?” Hagerich, a former professional baseball player, told Fox News. “Are they on the US side or the Turkish side?”
The father of two said he was in prison for two months before being contacted by the State Department and only believes the agency became interested when his story attracted media attention.
The Independent has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
Hagerich was on vacation with his family when airport security arrested him for having 20 unspent rounds of ammunition in his luggage.
He was detained for more than 100 days and later pleaded guilty, facing a potential sentence of 12 years in prison.
The case attracted significant attention from U.S. authorities, and a bipartisan delegation of representatives visited the island nation in May to lobby for the release of five Americans who were being held in Turks and Caicos for similar crimes.
“We have learned that this law unfairly targets Americans,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Pennsylvania. he wrote in Tribe live of your visit. “Other non-U.S. citizens charged in similar cases were allowed to leave the islands with just a simple fine and sent back to their home country.”
Turks and Caicos Judge Tanya Lobban Jackson sentenced Hagerich to 52 weeks in prison with 12 months suspended, meaning he would serve no prison time. He also had to pay a $6,500 fine.
The employee cited Hagerich’s lack of criminal history, the impact on his daughters and the fact that he did not intentionally bring the ammunition with him.
“They recognized that Bryan and the other Americans detained are not arms dealers – they are just people who made a mistake,” U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) later said. he said of the decision in a statement. “I’m grateful that the judge recognized that the right thing to do was to send Bryan home.”
Hagerich returned to the US on May 24.
Other Americans remain in Turks and Caicos facing similar charges, including Ryan Watson of Oklahoma and Sharitta Grier of Florida.
Michael Wenrich, a Virginia man who was arrested in the country for having two rounds of ammunition in his backpack – leftovers, he says, from a visit to the shooting range – was released last week and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Turks and Caicos passed a series of strong gun laws two years ago amid a rise in violent crime and gun trafficking.
