The American tourist facing a decade behind bars in the Turks and Caicos Islands after ammunition was found in his luggage while boarding a cruise ship has finally spoken out.
Tyler Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 after the bullets were discovered at a security checkpoint, leading to his arrest by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police.
Wenrich: The second American arrested for this crime in recent weeks after Ryan Watson, a father of two in Oklahoma, was charged. – has found the situation as dire as one might expect.
‘I can hardly understand it yet, and I’m living in it. You know, it’s difficult. It’s hard to believe this is happening. And it’s definitely a nightmare,” he said.
Wenrich, a Virginia paramedic with a wife and 1½-year-old son, has remained on Grand Turk Island for the past two weeks after two 9mm bullets were found in his bag when he tried to return to the cruise ship. after a day at the beach.
Tyler Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 after the bullets were discovered at a security checkpoint, leading to his arrest by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
Wenrich, a Virginia paramedic with a wife and 1½-year-old son, has remained on Grand Turk Island for the past two weeks after two 9mm bullets were found in his bag when he tried to return to the cruise ship. after a day at the beach
He claims it was simply an honest mistake, one he thought he was prepared enough to avoid.
“I’ve used that bag to go to the range with friends and to carry my firearm in the past.” Wenrich said NBC Boston.
‘So, you know, I checked it before I left, and it was just a complete oversight for me, TSA and port security, you know. Three groups lacked that ammunition,” he added.
He posted bail last week ahead of a court hearing after being handed over to Turks and Caicos Islands authorities.
Wenrich then spent three nights in jail before being transferred to prison for nine more.
“It was extremely difficult,” he said. “The conditions were difficult, but the people were more phenomenal, which helped.”
Royal Caribbean has not commented on the incident.
“It was still a very difficult situation,” Wenrich said. “It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.”
Wenrich claims it was simply an honest mistake, one he thought he had prepared enough to avoid.
Wenrich then spent three nights in jail before being transferred to prison for nine more.
Wenrich said he, his wife Jeriann, a dental hygienist and their son are struggling with being apart.
‘They’re not doing very well. You know, my son had trouble sleeping that night… something’s wrong,’ Wenrich shared.
“He’s old enough to know something is wrong and my wife is trying to do the best she can.”
Wenrich’s father has joined him on the island while he remains trapped in the legal system, costing him, in his words, tens of thousands of dollars.
The family is trying to raise $100,000 gofundme to cover all the bills.
His case appears to have been triggered by circumstances similar to those of Watson’s arrest.
Watson was arrested on April 11 after a dream 40th birthday vacation with friends quickly turned into a nightmare when four loose hunting bullets were found in his carry-on luggage on his departing flight.
The crime used to carry only a small fine, however Turks and Caicos lawmakers increased the penalties in 2022 to impose a minimum sentence of 12 years.
Wenrich said he, his wife Jeriann, a dental hygienist and their son are struggling with being apart.
‘They’re not doing very well. You know, my son had trouble sleeping that night… something’s wrong,” Wenrich shared.
The increase in recent arrests also comes despite a warning sent by US travel officials in 2023 in response to the updated law, alerting Americans to check their luggage for loose bullets or firearms. .
In an interview with the Today Show, Ryan said he “can’t set any kind of expectations about when I’ll be able to be home with those kids,” and described his ordeal as “the most terrible thing I’ve ever experienced.”
He said returning to his children is “and always will be my ultimate goal.”
Ryan said officials ignored his pleas that it was a “completely innocent mistake,” amid questions about how the bullets got through TSA on his outbound flight from Oklahoma’s Will Rogers World Airport.
Officials said they have launched a “review” of airport inspectors in response.
“TSA is conducting a screening at OKC, which was the originating airport,” the TSA said in a statement, adding that it is “aware” of the error.
However, several investigations in recent years have uncovered a surprising flaw in the effectiveness of TSA screening, in which undercover Homeland Security agents easily slip prohibited items between checkpoints.
In 2017, ABC News reported that undercover agents found safety equipment or procedures failing more than half of the time, with one source revealing that the “approximate” failure rate was more than 80 percent.
Ryan Watson (pictured with wife Valerie and two young children) faces 12 years in prison in Turks and Caicos after a handful of deer hunting bullets were found in his luggage.
A previous investigation in 2006 also found that fake bombs went unnoticed by TSA screeners 75 percent of the time at Los Angeles International Airport and 60 percent of the time at Chicago O’Hare, it reported. USA Today.
Despite their insistence that the ammunition was accidentally left behind on a previous hunting trip, Turks and Caicos prosecutors maintained that the crime is a serious crime in the nation.
TO GoFundMe has been created to help the couple with costs, which at the time of writing have exceeded $226,000.