..and now is facing 12 years in prison. I don't know why people think other countries should abide by our gun laws, or be given some sort of privilege to do as they please. If you travel, you really should know the stuff that could get yourself into big trouble.
[Removing this last section. No need to troll the board -- Staff]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13345369/Ryan-watson-Turks-Caicos-ammunition-luggage.html
[Removing this last section. No need to troll the board -- Staff]
Quote:
An American father is facing 12 years in prison in Turks and Caicos after ammunition was found in his luggage as he returned home from a vacation with his wife.
Ryan Watson, 40, has remained on the island for weeks following his arrest on April 11 alongside his wife Valerie, 38, who saw her charges dropped on Monday as she was allowed to return home to their two young children.
The couple said they were passing through airport security when four rounds of hunting ammo was found in Ryan's carry-on, which they claim were left by accident.
Valerie said she and her husband enjoyed a picturesque vacation for a friend's birthday on the Caribbean islands, but their trip quickly 'went from what was supposed to be a dream vacation to a nightmare.'
A small bag of bullets in a zip-lock bag were found in his luggage, which US TSA had missed on their departing flight, which Ryan said in an interview before his first court hearing that he 'recognized' immediately from a recent deer hunting trip.
'They were hunting ammunition rounds for white tail deer, and I recognized them and thought, "what a bonehead mistake,' he said. 'I had no idea that those were in there.'
The couple were forced to remain on the island as their passports were seized, as Ryan said officials brushed off his pleas that it was a 'complete innocent mistake.'
Despite their insistence that the ammunition was accidentally left from a previous hunting trip, Turks and Caicos prosecutors maintained that the crime is a serious offense in the nation. In 2022, the nation passed stricter laws that mandated a 12-year minimum sentence for ammunition possession.
Valerie through tears that when she heard the mandatory sentence, she was 'immediately terrified, because we can't be in prison for 12 years, we have kids at home.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13345369/Ryan-watson-Turks-Caicos-ammunition-luggage.html