Another American gunowner now faces 12 years of prison in the Turks and Caicos — and gun-grabber Shannon Watts couldn’t be any happier.
The man, 31-year-old Tyler Scott Wenrich of Virginia, traveled to the island of Grand Turk while aboard a cruise ship. While passing through a security checkpoint, however, he was found to be in possession of gun ammunition. Not good.
“While U.S. incidents involving ammunition in airport security checkpoints usually result in a fine, Turks and Caicos has laws that could result in 12-year minimum prison sentences,” according to Queen City News.
Wenrich will now reportedly remain in custody until a June 7th hearing.
The only good news is his boss, CEO and President Blanton Marchese of Emergency Services Solutions Inc., has his back.
“What I’ve learned over the past 30 years in public safety is that in every challenge, there lies an opportunity for grace and resilience,” Marchese told EMS1. “Given Tyler’s consistent demonstration of both qualities, I hope that his situation will be resolved with fairness and justice.”
The bad news is gun-grabbers like Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, and her followers/supporters appear to be seeking his scalp:
Two different cases of American men getting arrested for carelessly leaving ammunition in their luggage, something other countries actually take seriously. https://t.co/nEpx0og0ja
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 27, 2024
— Brian Carrier (@natcadude) April 27, 2024
Throw away the key!!! Thugs!!!
— RedRaider2Guns (@RedRaider2Guns) April 27, 2024
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
— Dan (@DanBeThyName) April 27, 2024
I’m glad they won’t be back here for a while and hope we don’t waste taxpayer dollars trying to get them released.
— Kristina McC (@MccKristina) April 27, 2024
Wenrich isn’t alone. Another set of American gun owners, 40-year-old Ryan Watson of Oklahoma and his wife, Valerie, were also facing the same 12-year sentence for bringing four rounds of hunting ammo to the Turks and Caicos.
“The Watsons were in Turks and Caicos with multiple couples celebrating several of their friend’s 40th birthdays,” a GoFundMe for Watson reads. “They had their lives turned upside down when they tried to return home, as local airport security found four rounds of ammunition unknowingly left in a duffel bag from a deer hunting trip.”
“It was not noticed by TSA when leaving America. Now, they are facing a legal system that is unfamiliar, daunting, and expensive that operates differently than the American Justice System,” the GoFundMe continues.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, Watson said he and his wife were subjected to a “terrifying interrogation” following their arrest.
“It was all pretty intimidating,” he said.
Valerie meanwhile told Boston station WBTS that she was at a complete loss when she found out they’d be facing a 12-year sentence.
“When I heard that, I immediately was terrified because I was like, we can’t both be in prison for 12 years,” she said. “We have kids at home. And this is such an innocent mistake that we didn’t even know we weren’t – we didn’t even know it was there. So yeah, my immediate thought was our kids and them being, you know, parentless for, for that long.”
The good news is that the charges against Valerie have since been dropped. The bad news, of course, is that the charges against her husband still stand.
That being said, Watson and his wife do have an ally in Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who penned a letter to the Turks and Caicos Island government vouching for them.
“I am writing to vouch for the characters of Mr. Ryan and Valerie Watson, who are currently detained in your country,” the letter reads. “The Watsons are upstanding members of their community and the State of Oklahoma, and can assure you countless others stand willing to confirm their high moral characters.”
“Like many in Oklahoma, Mr. Watson is an avid outdoorsman. We learn to safely use and transport firearms from a young age. To the extent Mr. Watson possessed ammunition, it would have been due to an inadvertent oversight, not an intentional attempt to break the law. The Watsons are great Oklahomans, and their children and community need them home soon,” the letter continues.
Like with Wenrich, Watson is stuck on the island until at least June 7th. However, he has reportedly bailed himself out of jail and is currently staying at a pricey AirBnB as he awaits his court date.
“He is mandated to the island while waiting for his next court appearance scheduled June 7th,” an update from the GoFundMe reads.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Vivek Saxena
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://americanwirenews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.