US dad detained in Turks & Caicos for having ammo in luggage will be freed

A Pennsylvania man who faced a minimum of 12 years behind bars for bringing ammunition into the nation of Turks and Caicos is expected to be set free after paying a fine, a judge ruled Friday.

Bryan Hagerich, 39, was given a suspended sentence of 52 weeks by a judge who cited exceptional circumstances in the case, including the fact that Hagerich brought the ammo into the country unintentionally, and the impact his detainment had on his 5-year-old daughter.

The father of two will have to pay a fine of $6,700 and, after that, he will be able to return home. He won't serve jail time, as the judge suspended his 52-week sentence for 12 months.

“This is a huge relief,” Hagerich’s father told NBC News.

Hagerich, 39, had been detained in Turks and Caicos since February after he said he accidentally brought 20 rounds of ammunition in his luggage while on vacation with his wife and two children.

The judge considering his case sought to determine whether Hagerich would face the mandatory minimum of 12 years behind bars under the strict gun law enacted by Turks and Caicos two years ago.

"I would never, ever knowingly come to a foreign country with any type of ammunition," Hagerich told NBC News on April 24. "But I did recognize that it was ammunition that I’d use for for deer hunting back in Pennsylvania."

The former professional baseball player, who was an outfielder at the University of Delaware drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2007, was one of four men awaiting judgment on similar charges.

After Supreme Court Judge Tanya Lobban Jackson announced the sentence at the hearing on the island of Providenciales, Hagerich's family was seen hugging and in tears, NBC News reported.

What has happened to other Americans who violated the gun law in Turks & Caicos?

Turks and Caicos has already adjudicated five other cases of Americans charged with violating the gun law, finding exceptional circumstances in all five cases.

Four of them received fines and were released, while one Indiana man pled guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison in September 2023.

Hagerich had been sharing a room with Ryan Watson, another American awaiting judgment.

Watson, who is from Oklahoma, was celebrating his 40th birthday in the tropical nation with his wife and two other couples when he was detained at the airport for possession of ammunition.

Watson has not had his cased adjudicated yet. Both were awaiting Hagerich's fate.

“It’s probably the most critical day for all of us that are currently stuck on the island,” Hagerich told NBC News on April 27. “My fate is likely the fate of others as well.”

"We had no idea that that ammunition was in our bags," Watson said.

Could the Americans detained in Turks & Caicos avoid jail time?

Attorney Kristen Feden told NBC News correspondent Sam Brock on TODAY in an interview that aired May 3 there was a good possibility the men could avoid jail time.

"Are they first time offenders? Was it a small amount of ammunition? Are those things taken into consideration? Absolutely," Feden said. "But at the end of the day, failing to know what is contained in one’s luggage is not a justification for violating any foreign law."

The Turks and Caicos law says those visiting do not have a constitutional right to carry firearms and that all weapons are strictly forbidden unless there is explicit permission.

Hagerich was hoping the judge will be swayed by his character and his claim that it was an accident that the ammunition was in his bag.

"I’ve been nothing but cooperative throughout the whole time here," he said on April 24. "Honesty, integrity — that’s me as a father, as a parent."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com