American tourist facing prison in Turks and Caicos over ammo in luggage

Valerie Watson returned to Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport successful tears connected Tuesday greeting successful a drastic departure from really she imagined her agelong play travel to Turks and Caicos would end.

Watson is home, but her husband, Ryan Watson, is successful jailhouse connected nan land and facing a imaginable mandatory minimum condemnation of 12 years down bars aft airdrome information allegedly recovered 4 rounds of hunting ammo successful his carry-on container earlier this month.

"We were trying to battalion committee shorts and flip flops," Valerie Watson told CBS News. "Packing ammunition was not astatine each our intent."

Valerie Watson, who learned Sunday she would not beryllium charged and would beryllium allowed to return home, said nan travel "went from what was expected to beryllium a dream picnic to a nightmare."

The Watsons are not nan only ones going done this ordeal.

Bryan Hagerich is awaiting proceedings aft ammo was recovered successful nan Pennsylvania man's checked container successful February.

"I subsequently spent 8 nights successful their section jail. Some of nan darkest, hardest times of my life, rather frankly," Hagerich said. "These past 70 days person been benignant of a roller coaster, conscionable nan symptom and suffering of having your family astatine location and I'm here."

Possessing a weapon aliases ammunition is prohibited successful Turks and Caicos, but visitors were antecedently often capable to conscionable salary a fine. In February, however, a tribunal bid mandated that moreover visitors successful nan process of leaving nan state are taxable to situation time.

Since November 2022, 8 firearms and ammunition prosecutions successful full person been brought involving visitors from nan United States, 3 of which are presently earlier nan tribunal pinch each of nan defendants connected bail.

Last year, a judge recovered Michael Grim from Indiana had "exceptional circumstances" erstwhile he pleaded blameworthy to accidentally having ammunition successful his checked bag. He served almost six months successful prison. 

"No cleanable moving water. You're benignant of exposed to nan situation 24/7," he told CBS News. "Mosquitoes and tropical illnesses are a existent concern. There's immoderate dispute actors successful nan prison."

The judge was hoping to nonstop a connection to different Americans. 

"[His] sentencing was wholly predicated connected nan truth that I was an American," Grim said. 

The U.S. embassy past September posted a recreation alert online, informing group to "check your luggage for stray ammunition," noting it would "not beryllium capable to unafraid your merchandise from custody."

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson told CBS News, "We are alert of nan apprehension of U.S. citizens successful Turks and Caicos.  When a U.S. national is arrested overseas, we guidelines fresh to supply each due consular assistance. In a overseas country, U.S. citizens are taxable to that country's laws, moreover if they disagree from those successful nan United States." 

Last year, TSA recovered a grounds 6,737 guns astatine airdrome information checkpoints, and astir of them were loaded.  

"I can't moreover statesman to deliberation that this very innocent, regrettable correction would forestall maine from being capable to watch my boy postgraduate aliases thatch him to shave aliases return my girl to dances," Ryan Watson said. "It's conscionable unfathomable. I do not — I can't process it."

The Turks and Caicos authorities responded to CBS News successful a lengthy connection confirming nan rule and reiterating that, moreover if extenuating circumstances are recovered to beryllium present, nan judge is required to instruction situation time.