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'Nightmare': PA Exec Among Americans Facing 12 Years In Prison For Ammo Discovery In Caribbean

A 31-year-old EMT from Virginia became the most recent American arrested in British territory when authorities found ammunition in his luggage, police said.

Ryan Watson, Hagerich Hagerich (inset), and Tyler Wenrich (right) were arrested in Turks & Caicos after being found with ammunition in their luggage, police said.

Ryan Watson, Hagerich Hagerich (inset), and Tyler Wenrich (right) were arrested in Turks & Caicos after being found with ammunition in their luggage, police said.

Photo Credit: GoFundMe photo/TCI Police/Bryan Hagerich Facebook photo

Tyler Wenrich, who works for the Powhatan Volunteer Rescue Squad, according to his Facebook page, traveled to Grand Turk on a cruise ship and, while going through a security checkpoint, was found with ammunition, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said.

According to CBS News, police found two bullets in Wenrich's backpack on Saturday, April 20 as he prepared to board a cruise ship.

Wenrich appeared before a Grand Turk Magistrate on April 24 and was remanded to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pending a June 7 Sufficiency Hearing.

According to the US Embassy of Nassau, the penalty for traveling to Turks and Caicos with a firearm, ammunition, or other weapon can result in a minimum of 12 years in jail.

The State Department of Travel urged travelers to carefully check their luggage for stray bullets, forgotten ammunition, and more prior to leaving the U.S.

Ryan Watson, a 40-year-old dad from Oklahoma, was arrested days earlier upon the discovery of hunting ammunition in his carry-on, but released from Turks and Caicos jail on a $15,000 bond, CBS says. As of April 25, Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, was awaiting trial after ammunition was found in his bag in February, CBS reports.

PA State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar and Congressman Guy Reschenthaler have been working to bring Hagerich home. 

Hagerich's LinkedIn page shows he is a healthcare executive from Somerset, PA, and previously at Golden Living in Phoenixville.

On Facebook, Hagerich's wife, Ashley, called the situation a "nightmare," and urged supporters to reach out to Pennsylvania lawmakers in a push to free her husband.

A GoFundMe page started for the "wrongful detention" of the three men had raised more than $214,000 as of press time.

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