The indictment of Americans for accidentally bringing ammunition into the Turks and Caicos Islands comes on the heels of a spate of arrests of Americans smuggling firearms and ammunition to countries around the world.
The senator and world-renowned boxing coach are among the latest cases of Americans detained overseas for inadvertently leaving weapons in their bags before traveling.
The alarming trend comes after airport personnel found a record number of firearms at TSA checkpoints last year.
Experts say that in most cases, licensed gun owners “simply forgot” that they had left the weapon in their bag before traveling. This surge is also due to the increase in gun ownership across the United States.
A father who spent more than two months in the Turks and Caicos Islands after being arrested for accidentally taking hunting ammunition during a family vacation was allowed to return to the United States on Friday, narrowly avoiding prison time for the crime. .
Washington state senator Jeff Wilson was arrested in Hong Kong in October after accidentally traveling to Hong Kong with a pistol in his carry-on luggage. Pictured arriving at Hong Kong court before charges were dismissed
In September 2023, world-renowned boxing trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre was arrested in Manchester, England after airport staff found a firearm and ammunition in his checked baggage. It was done. he received a suspended prison sentence
Brian Hagerich, who was fined $6,700, is one of five Americans arrested on ammunition charges in the British Overseas Territory.
But the problem of Americans being detained after taking firearms and ammunition overseas goes far beyond the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Washington State Sen. Jeff Wilson was arrested in Hong Kong in October after accidentally traveling there with a pistol in his carry-on luggage.
Wilson was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, but was acquitted on condition that he not commit another crime for two years. Hong Kong courts can handle crimes in this way depending on the circumstances.
This incident was particularly egregious. That’s because TSA rules prohibit travelers from carrying firearms in their carry-on baggage at all, whether on domestic or international flights, and this is because U.S. airport security didn’t properly screen Wilson. It shows that there was no.
The senator realized his mistake during the flight when he reached into his briefcase for gum and discovered the weapon, but baggage checkers in Portland, Oregon, were unable to find it at security.
Wilson declared the weapon to customs officials upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport and was arrested.
Hong Kong Chief Justice Dong So found that Wilson did not intentionally bring the firearms into Hong Kong.
In September 2023, world-renowned boxing trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre was arrested in Manchester, England after airport staff found a firearm and ammunition in his checked baggage. It was done.
The items were discovered as Mr McIntyre prepared to leave Manchester after a boxing match involving Chris Eubank Jr, who was his coach.
McIntyre pleaded guilty to being in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 20 months’ probation.
Ryan Watson and his wife Valerie were pictured arriving on vacation together in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Watson accidentally smuggled ammunition onto the island and is now serving a prison sentence.
Brian Hagerich (pictured with wife Ashley and their children, Palmer and Katherine) returned to the United States on Friday after receiving a hefty fine for possession of ammunition.
Although the UK has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, Mr Justice Nicholas Dean KC said Mr McIntyre was a “thoroughly good person” and had “an exceptional case” which meant a non-custodial sentence was appropriate. He said there was a “situation”.
Americans have also been detained at airports in other Caribbean countries, South America and Asia for traveling with ammunition in their luggage. Most claim they took the ammunition by mistake.
In April of this year, a man was arrested in Kingston, Jamaica as he was boarding an outbound flight from Norman Manley International Airport after 15 bullets were found on him.
The incident comes after 6,737 firearms were found at airport security checkpoints in 2023, a record high, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Approximately 93 percent of the weapon was loaded.
Experts say the majority of incidents involve passengers involuntarily carrying weapons or ammunition.
Legally owned firearms may be transported in checked baggage, provided they are declared at the check-in counter, unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container.
However, passengers should also pay attention to the firearms laws of the countries they visit.
Records of travelers with carry-on baggage being caught at TSA checkpoints have steadily increased in recent years.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, “Too many firearms are still being seen at TSA checkpoints, and of particular concern are their loaded loads, which pose an unnecessary risk to everyone at TSA checkpoints.” ” he said.
“Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited as carry-on baggage. Passengers are permitted to travel with an unloaded firearm, but only if it is properly packed in a locked hard case. This is only possible if you put it in your checked baggage and first declare it to the airline at the check-in counter.
Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor and aviation safety expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said the vast majority of passengers who violate firearms regulations “do not do so with malicious intent.” said.
“They just forget,” he told the New York Times.
The TSA said the “most common reasons” cited by passengers with firearms at checkpoints were either they forgot the weapon or ammunition was there or someone stuffed it in their bag. Ta.
Passengers can be fined up to $15,000 if they bring a weapon through a TSA checkpoint. However, maximum fines are rarely imposed, and some experts have called for tougher penalties.
Recent polls show that firearm purchases have soared during the pandemic, with a record number of Americans now owning firearms.
About 52% of U.S. voters say they or someone in their household owns a gun, the highest percentage since the survey was first conducted in 1999, according to an NBC News national poll. It became.
Separate statistics found that one in five households purchased a firearm between March 2020 and March 2022. This data also includes new gun owners and those adding to their collections.
Experts have linked increased ownership to a feeling of distrust in society and the need for protection in everyday life among many Americans.
Sharitta Greer (center) moved into a rented home in the Turks and Caicos Islands with Ryan Watson (left) and Brian Hagerich (right) after being unable to return to the United States due to ammunition charges.
Tyler Wenrich, 31, pictured with his wife Jerian, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison after two 9mm bullets were found in his luggage as he departed from a bachelor party cruise on April 20. may be subject to punishment.
“Sometime between 2016 and 2019, new gun owners were more likely to be women and black than before,” said Dr. Matt Miller of Northeastern University, who studies trends in gun ownership. And I don’t know if it’s a reaction to emotion, but it’s a tempting speculation, as if things are out of control and the country is really divided.”
No definitive association has been observed between ownership and arrests at airports or abroad.
Michael Alan Grimm, 26, from Indiana, was preparing to leave the island after a family vacation when airport staff discovered a 9mm magazine in his luggage and sent him to the Turks. He was recently released from an eight-month sentence in the Caicos Islands.
Mr Grimm was initially told he would only be fined, but the judge decided on a prison term instead.
Ryan Watson, 40, Tyler Scott Wenrich, 31, and Sharitta Cynthe Greer, 45, all remain trapped on the island, while Michael Lee Evans, 72, ) was released on bail and allowed to fly back to the United States due to his serious medical condition.
They asked for mercy, claiming they did not know there was no bullet in the bag and that it may have been left in the bag after a hunting trip or by mistake.
However, a recent delegation of two U.S. senators, three U.S. representatives, and representatives from the embassy and State Department said they were “unable to find a path forward” to secure his release. still faces 12 years in prison.
Wenrich pleaded guilty last week and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, but Watson and Greer have not yet entered charges.
Hagerich, Watson, and Greer were out on bail on a Caribbean island, sharing an apartment and awaiting their fate.
Ryan Watson, 40, an avid hunter, said he was on vacation with his wife Valerie when a hunting bullet was found in his luggage. he still remains on the island
While the delegation had hoped to bring Americans home, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin told the Miami Herald that there was no “willingness to work with Turks and Caicos Islands officials to bring voters home.” “Despite that, we couldn’t find a way forward today.”
He added: “We respected their sovereignty and tried to be open-minded and find common ground.”
“Right now, well-meaning American citizens are facing more than a dozen years in prison for unknowingly carrying one or two bullets in their luggage.
“The unintended consequences of the TCI law are victimizing well-intentioned American tourists, including my grandmother, who had no intention of breaking the law.”
Mullin said if the tourists are not released and jailed, “we will need to consider additional measures to protect Americans.”
After the meeting, the Turks and Caicos Islands Governor’s Office stated that the government “has established clear laws and harsh penalties prohibiting the possession of firearms and ammunition in order to serve and protect all people living in and visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands.” “
