Another victory for American dads locked up in Turks and Caicos on ammo charges as second is allowed to fly home
- Tyler Wenrich is set to return home to the US after more than a month in limbo
- He was arrested after two 9mm bullets were found in his bag
An American dad is being released on time served after he was jailed in Turks and Caicos for having ammunition in his luggage.
Tyler Wenrich, 31, was charged on April 23 after two 9mm bullets were discovered at a security checkpoint as he tried to get back on a cruise ship following a beach day.
He was arrested by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and was expected to be sentenced for over a decade.
But a Turks and Caicos judge instead ordered Wenrich to pay $9,000 and serve three weeks of prison time, which has already been covered by the time he served before he was released on bail today.
He will be free to leave the islands after the fine is paid, for which the deadline is this Sunday.
Wenrich, a paramedic from Virginia with a wife and year-and-a-half-old son is the second American to be released recently on a weapons charges.
Tyler Wenrich, 31, has been released and fined $9,000 after he was arrested for possessing two bullets in his bag in Turks and Caicos
After the decision was announced, Wenrich said: 'A weight has been lifted off my shoulders and my wife, and I'm glad that I get to go home and be with my son again.'
Republican Virginia representative Bob Good later said in a statement that he was 'pleased.'
'This is the result we were seeking on my trip with congressional colleagues last week to the Turks & Caicos.
'We met with government officials to advocate for the release of all the American detainees who were facing a 12 year prison sentences for accidental and non-threatening offenses.
'In Tyler's case, it was two stray rounds of ammunition that had fallen into the liner of his backpack. We are thankful to all who worked and prayed on Tyler's behalf.
While in jail, Werich had described the experience as a 'nightmare' and said that the entire ordeal was an 'honest mistake'.
Wenrich, a paramedic from Virginia with a wife and year-and-a-half-old son is the second American to be released on a weapons charges
While in jail, Werich had described the experience as a 'nightmare' and said that the entire ordeal was an 'honest mistake'
'I can almost not wrap my head around it still, and I'm living in it. You know, it's hard to. It's hard to believe that it's happening. And it's definitely a nightmare.
'I've used that bag to go to the shooting range with friends and to carry my firearm in the past,' Wenrich told NBC Boston.
'So it was, you know, I checked it before I left, and it was just a complete oversight on me, TSA, and the port security, you know. Three groups missed that ammunition,' he added.
He had posted bail in the first week of May after being turned over to authorities in Turks and Caicos.
Wenrich then spent three nights in jail before being moved to a prison for nine more.
'It was extremely difficult. The conditions were difficult but the people were more phenomenal, which helped.
'It was still a very it was a very hard situation to be in. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to go through,' Wenrich said.
The paramedic is the one of the five people who were arrested for possessing ammunition. The fate of the remaining three is not yet known.
