One of the five Americans arrested for bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos has pleaded guilty and is facing a minimum of 12 years in prison.
Tyler Wenrich, a 31-year-old paramedic from Virginia, pleaded guilty to two counts of ammunition possession on Tuesday morning, according to Dr. Angela Brooks, deputy director of public prosecutions in Turks and Caicos, CNN reported.
Possession of firearms and ammunition is illegal on the Caribbean island chain, which is a British Overseas Territory where five Americans have been arrested in recent months after ammunition was found in their luggage.
Wenrich was caught in April with just two 9mm rounds in his bag at a security checkpoint as he returned to the Royal Caribbean Cruise ship following a beach excursion. Wenrich argued that it was an honest mistake, saying he had the ammo in his bag from prior hunting trips.
Now the father could spend a dozen years behind bars. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28.
“I have a lot of fear and anxiety,” Wenrich told WPVI.
“You know, the best outcome to this is that the judge will find leniency and compassion in this situation, and steer away from the 12-year sentence and be able to give a sentence that is less than that and a fine, hopefully.”
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers recently visited Turks and Caicos to lobby for the release and Wenrich and four other detained Americans: Sharitta Grier, 45; Michael Lee Evans, 72; Bryan Hagerich and Ryan Tyler Watson, 40.
Each face charges for possession of varying amounts of ammunition. Evans has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
“Unfortunately, despite our willingness to work with Turks and Caicos officials to get our constituents home, we were not able to find a path forward today,” Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who led the trip, said in the statement on Monday.
“At this point, well-intentioned American citizens are facing a dozen years in prison all for unknowingly having one or two bullets in their luggage.”
Bringing firearms or ammunition into Turks and Caicos without permission from local authorities is “strictly forbidden,” the government said in a statement.
Those who violate the law face a minimum of 12 years in prison, the US Embassy in the Bahamas warned in April.
However, judges have the discretion to lower sentences and fines under “exceptional circumstances,” the Turks and Caicos attorney general said in a statement earlier this month, CNN reported.
