American tourist faces 12 years in prison after bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos

An Oklahoma man faces up to 12 years in prison on a Caribbean island after customs officials found ammunition in his luggage.

Ryan Watson traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands with his wife, Valerie, to celebrate his 40th birthday on April 7. They went with two friends who also turned 40.

The vacation came to an abrupt end when airport staff found a zip-lock bag containing bullets in the couple's hand luggage. Watson said it was hunting ammunition he accidentally took with him, but a strict law in the Turks and Caicos Islands could still force a court to impose a mandatory 12-year sentence.

“They were hunting the cartridges that I use for white-tailed deer,” Watson told NBC Boston in an interview last week that aired after their first court appearance Tuesday.

“I recognized them and I was like, 'Oh man, what a stupid mistake not to know they were there,'” he said.

The couple was arrested and charged with possession of ammunition. Authorities seized their passports and explained the penalties they faced.

“When I heard that, I was immediately terrified because I said to myself that we can't both stay in prison for 12 years. We have children at home and this is such an innocent mistake ” Valerie Watson said in the interview.

The charges against her were dropped and she returned home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday after the court hearing to be reunited with her two young children.

“Our goal is to bring Ryan home because we can’t be a family without Dad,” she said.

The couple also discussed the financial burden of traveling much longer than expected. “This is something we may never recover from,” Ryan Watson said.

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a travel warning in September over a law strictly prohibiting the possession of firearms or ammunition in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British overseas territory southeast of the Bahamas that is a popular vacation spot.

He said: “We would like to remind all travelers that declaring a weapon in your luggage to an air carrier does not entitle you to bring the weapon to TCI. [Turks and Caicos Islands] and will result in your arrest.

The embassy added: “If you bring a firearm or ammunition to TCI, we will not be able to secure your release.”

NBC News has reached out to the Turks and Caicos embassy and government for comment.

The same thing happened to another American, Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, who was arrested after ammunition was found in his luggage before attempting to board a flight from the Turks and Caicos Islands in February. He said he accidentally left it in his bag.

Hagerich was on a family vacation with his wife and two young children, but has now lived in the country for 70 days. He spent eight days in jail before posting bail.

“It's incredibly scary. You know, you just don't know what the next day might bring. You know, what path it might take,” Hagerich told NBC Boston.

“You know, it's certainly a lot different than packing your bags and going away for a few days with your family. It's been the worst 70 days of my life,” he said.

Formerly a professional baseball player, Hagerich was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the June 2007 MLB amateur draft out of the University of Delaware.

His case will go to trial on May 3.

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