A father stranded in Turks and Caicos after he accidentally carried ammunition in his luggage during a family vacation has told DailyMail.com of the hellish ordeal as he faces up to 12 years in prison for the ‘honest mistake’.
Bryan Hagerich, 39, a former baseball pro, was arrested at the airport on 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 spate of arrests of American men who accidentally traveled to Turks and Caicos with ammunition in their luggage. All face lengthy jail terms under strict firearms laws in the British overseas territory.
Customs officials found a box of 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 then released on bail and has since spent 76 days on the island anxiously awaiting his sentencing.
The couple said the traumatic ordeal 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 Turks and Caicos before his arrest for unintentionally carrying ammunition in his luggage
The family were visiting Turks and Caicos for the fourth time and said the island is a ‘special place for us’. Bryan, a former baseball pro, faces 12 years in prison on the firearms charges
Speaking from the Airbnb where he has lived during his time on bail, Bryan also told of his desperate hope for leniency from the courts so he can be reunited with his family.
Like in the other ongoing cases, Bryan legally purchased the ammo in the United States.
The issue of Americans being held in Turks and Caicos 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,’ said Bryan during a telephone interview on Friday.
‘As a father, it’s my responsibility to provide for my family, to protect my family, to 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 Turks and Caicos on February 8 and spent five days at the luxury Beaches resort.
‘This was our fourth time coming to the island. Obviously we came back again and again so it’s a special place for us,’ said Bryan.
They arrived at the airport for their return flight on February 13 and Bryan was called for a random bag search. He reported to a customs official and staff checked his luggage while Ashley and their children waiting at the gate.
Bryan told DailyMail.com the hardest part is being away from his family: ‘As a father, it’s my responsibility to provide for my family, to protect my family, to 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 former baseball pro, who now works for a nursing home provider, is on bail and able to speak with his children every day by video call, including during their baseball practice
‘I didn’t think was a problem, consented to it and for extremely an long period of time they were searching through my checked luggage and found hunting ammunition,’ he said.
‘Quickly I recognized the ammunition is the type that I use and have back at home in the US and everything from there was essentially a whirlwind.
‘Initially, they weren’t even going to allow me to to notify Ashley of what was going on. She’s there with our two children ready to board a flight wondering where I am.’
Customs officials reluctantly allowed Bryan to see his wife for just a few minutes – while their children were forced to wait outside and could only watch through a window into the room.
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 evening, probably around dinner time, I was transferred into the jail here. And those eight nights and nine days were the darkest time of my life in every regard,’ Bryan said.
‘You’re cut off from your family. They had no clue where I was, I had no clue where I was, frankly.’
Ashley, who was able to track down her husband after searching Google for jails on Turks and Caicos and calling the prison directly, said customs staff told her bluntly: ‘Your husband’s not coming home tomorrow. You’re not going to see your husband for quite some time.’
After more than a week in a prison cell, Bryan was granted bail and pleaded guilty to the firearms charge during a court appearance on March 28.
His next hearing is May 3, when prosecutors will outline their case and Bryan’s defense team will also make arguments before a sentencing date is set.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in prison, but courts are allowed to deliver lesser sentences if it deems there are exceptional circumstances.
Bryan Hagerich is one of several Americans held in Turks and Caicos after accidentally taking ammo to the islands. Tyler Wenrich, 31, (pictured with his wife Jeriann) is also facing a lengthy prison term after bullets were found in his luggage as he departed a cruise
Ryan Watson (pictured with his wife Valerie and their 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 let off with a hefty fine or jail terms ranging from a few months to more than a year.
‘Nobody knows what might happen next,’ Bryan said.
‘I thought [initially] that this would be resolved in a short amount of time and hopefully would be able to board the next flight, or maybe even the next day, to come home.
‘Not knowing all that, you have just so many emotions that you’re going through seeing your wife in tears, your children in tears, and just essentially just ripped away from you.’
The family was briefly reunited over the Easter holiday, when Ashley and the children were able to visit Bryan on the island.
Bryan has also had daily contact with his family, helping 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 really important for us to try to maintain as much normalcy and structure as we possibly can [for the children], when everything in our life is anything but normal right now.
‘So you know, for them, we’ve just shared the daddy’s working and he’s working very hard to get home, and obviously just stressing how much we love them. And we’re all going to be back together as a family, hopefully very soon.’
Bryan, who works in the nonprofit nursing home and assisted living industry in Pennsylvania, has also been able carry out some work duties remotely and said his employer’s support has been ‘fantastic’.
‘I have at any given time, 130 seniors that their lives and their care is dependent upon my leadership, and that’s been equally as hard not being able to deliver,’ he added.
Ashley added: ‘We’re all human, and we’re all flawed, and we all make mistakes. And in this in this situation, the crime just doesn’t fit the punishment.
‘My husband made an honest mistake, he is absolutely willing to take accountability for that. That’s that’s not even a question. But the thought of 12 years or any type of jail time for something that was not intentional and was an honest mistake – we were leaving the country, for heaven’s sakes – it just doesn’t seem humane.’
