A Turks and Caicos judge allowed a U.S. citizen to avoid jail time Friday after the American was facing 12 years in prison for having loose bullets mixed in with his vacation luggage.
Supreme Court Judge Tanya Lobban Jackson gave Bryan Hagerich a suspended sentence of one year — which essentially negated any chance of him staying behind bars. The judge did order him to pay a $6,700 fine.
Ms. Jackson said she found “exceptional circumstances” in Hagerich’s case, an off-ramp in the Caribbean nation’s stringent gun laws that can exempt people from serving the 12-year minimum sentence for having illegal weapons or ammunition in the country.
Hagerich, 40, was arrested in February following a trip to the archipelago. He pleaded guilty this spring to having the loose hunting ammunition in his luggage.
The father of two lives near Pittsburgh and was greeted Friday on his return home by family and friends who were joined by Sen. John Fetterman.
Hagerich is also the first of five Americans to be sentenced over the crime that has elevated tensions between officials in the U.S. and Turks and Caicos.
A day before Hagerich was sentenced, Turks and Caicos Premier Charles Washington Misick accused U.S. politicians of spreading “diabolical falsehoods” that the nation’s gun laws are unfairly victimizing Americans.
The premier’s speech was in response to Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania Republican, who told ABC News that U.S. citizens were targeted by the law first enacted in 2022.
The other four Americans arrested are Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas; Ryan Watson, 40, of Oklahoma; Tyler Wenrich, 31, of Virginia and Sharitta Grier, 45, of Florida.
Wenrich pleaded guilty Tuesday following his April arrest. He’ll be sentenced next month.
Evans, who was first arrested in December and pleaded guilty this spring, will also be sentenced in June.
Mr. Watson was arrested in April and has not yet entered a plea, nor has Ms. Grier, who was arrested on May 13. Her next court date is in July.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.