A father stranded in the Turks and Caicos Islands after accidentally carrying ammunition in his luggage during a family holiday has told DailyMail.com about the ordeal he faces as he faces up to 12 years in prison for the “honest mistake”.
Bryan Hagerich, 39, a former baseball professional, was arrested at an airport in the Caribbean islands in February after a five-day vacation with his wife, Ashley, and their two young children.
In a moving interview with DailyMail.com, Bryan and Ashley, 41, shared their ordeal amid a series of arrests of American men who accidentally traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands with ammunition in their luggage. They all face long prison sentences under strict firearms laws in the British Overseas Territory.
Customs officials found a box with 20 rounds of hunting ammunition in Bryan’s luggage during a random check before his family’s return flight to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had accidentally left the bullets in his bag before the vacation.
Bryan was charged with a firearms offense and held for more than a week in a grim island jail. He was later released on bail and has since spent 76 days on the island anxiously awaiting his sentencing.
The couple said the traumatic experience has had a profound impact on their two young children, Palmer, four, and Caroline, six, who ask every day: “When is daddy coming home?”
Bryan Hagerich with his wife Ashley and their children, Palmer and Catherine, during the trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands before his arrest for unintentionally carrying ammunition in his luggage.
The family was visiting Turks and Caicos for the fourth time and said the island is a “special place for us.” Bryan, a former baseball professional, faces 12 years in prison on firearms charges.
Speaking from the Airbnb where he lived during his time on bail, Bryan also spoke of his desperate hope of getting leniency from the courts so he could be reunited with his family.
As in the other ongoing cases, Bryan legally purchased the ammunition in the United States.
The issue of Americans detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands on firearms charges received renewed attention after another American father, Ryan Watson, was detained earlier this month. Another man, Tyler Wenrich, was also charged this week.
“It’s been traumatic in every way imaginable,” Bryan said during a phone interview Friday.
‘As a father, it is my responsibility to provide for my family, protect them and support them in every way imaginable. And for me now, 75 days of not being able to do that, it’s just been catastrophic.”
The family arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands on February 8 and spent five days at the luxury Beaches resort.
‘This was the fourth time we came to the island. “We obviously came back again and again, so it’s a special place for us,” Bryan said.
They arrived at the airport to catch their return flight on February 13 and called Bryan for a random search of her bag. He presented himself to a customs official and the staff searched his luggage while Ashley and her children waited at the door.
Bryan told DailyMail.com that the hardest part is being away from his family: “As a father, it is my responsibility to provide for my family, protect them and support them in every way imaginable. And for me now, 75 days without being able to do “That has been simply catastrophic.”
The former baseball pro, who now works for a nursing home provider, is free on bond and can talk to his children every day by video call, even during their baseball practice.
“I didn’t think it was a problem, I consented to it and for an extremely long period of time they were searching my checked luggage and found hunting ammunition,” he said.
‘I quickly realized that the ammo is the type I use and have at home in the US and everything from there was essentially a whirlwind.
‘At first, they weren’t even going to let me notify Ashley of what was happening. She’s there with our two kids ready to board a flight and she’s wondering where I am.
Customs officials reluctantly allowed Bryan to see his wife for only a few minutes, while his children were forced to wait outside and could only watch through a bedroom window.
After police told Bryan he would be detained, the family decided Ashley should return home with the children while the situation was resolved.
‘Later that night, probably around dinnertime, they transferred me to the jail here. And those eight nights and nine days were the darkest moments of my life in every way,” Bryan said.
You are isolated from your family. They had no idea where it was; I, frankly, had no idea where I was.
Ashley, who was able to locate her husband after Googling prisons in the Turks and Caicos Islands and calling the prison directly, said customs staff told her bluntly: “Your husband is not coming home tomorrow.” You won’t see your husband for quite some time.
After more than a week in a jail cell, Bryan was granted bail and pleaded guilty to the firearms charge during a March 28 court appearance.
His next hearing is May 3, when prosecutors will outline their case and Bryan’s defense team will also present their arguments before a sentencing date is set.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in prison, but courts can impose lesser sentences if they consider exceptional circumstances exist.
Bryan Hagerich is one of several Americans detained in Turks and Caicos after accidentally bringing ammunition to the islands. Tyler Wenrich, 31 (pictured with his wife Jeriann) also faces a lengthy prison sentence after bullets were found in his luggage as he left a cruise ship.
Ryan Watson (pictured with wife Valerie and two young children) also faces 12 years in prison in Turks and Caicos after a handful of deer hunting bullets were found in his luggage.
In previous similar cases, American tourists have been released with a hefty fine or jail terms ranging from a few months to more than a year.
“No one knows what could happen next,” Bryan said.
‘I thought (at first) that this would be resolved in no time and that I would hopefully be able to board the next flight, or maybe even the next day, to go home.
“Not knowing all that, you have so many emotions that you’re going through seeing your wife crying, your kids crying, and essentially just being taken away from you.”
The family was briefly reunited over the Easter holidays, when Ashley and the children were able to visit Bryan on the island.
Bryan has also had daily contact with his family, helping the children with their schoolwork and also calling them on FaceTime during their baseball practice. Bryan is a former college baseball star who was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 2007 MLB draft.
Ashley said: “It’s been very important for us to try to maintain as much normality and structure as possible (for the children), when everything in our lives is anything but normal right now.”
‘So, you know, for them, we just shared Dad’s job and he’s working really hard to get home, and obviously we just emphasized how much we love them. And we will all be back together as a family, hopefully, very soon.”
Bryan, who works in a nonprofit nursing home and assisted living industry in Pennsylvania, has also been able to perform some work duties remotely and said the support from his employer has been “fantastic.”
“At any given time, I have 130 seniors whose lives and care depend on my leadership, and it has been equally difficult not to be able to deliver,” he added.
Ashley added: “We’re all human, we’re all flawed and we all make mistakes.” And in this situation, the crime simply does not fit the punishment.
‘My husband made an honest mistake and is absolutely willing to take responsibility for it. That’s not even a question. “But the idea of 12 years or any kind of prison sentence for something that was unintentional and an honest mistake (we were leaving the country, for God’s sake) just doesn’t seem humane.”
