Bryan Hagerich of Somerset County is still detained in Turks and Caicos after 99 days.
Members of Congress are fighting for his return.
Senator John Fetterman says he’s feeling extremely optimistic after meeting with officials from Turks and Caicos this week. Meanwhile, friends of the Hagerich family say they’re nervously awaiting the sentencing.
Bryan Hagerich of Somerset County was arrested in Turks and Caicos back in February after hunting bullets were found in his bag that he said he didn't know were there. The father of two has been detained on the island since then.
Possessing a firearm or ammunition in Turks and Caicos used to be punishable with just a fine. Now, new laws say it requires a prison sentence—even for tourists. Hagerich faces a potential minimum sentence of 12 years in prison.
“It doesn’t make sense that a penalty that severe would quite literally ruin lives of American tourists, especially when something like that is legal in our country. You can legally travel with ammunition if it checked properly,” says Hagerich family friend Caroline Constantine.
On Tuesday, senator john Fetterman returned from Turks and Caicos where he and other members of Congress met with officials to push for the return of Hagerich and the four other Americans detained there.
“He has been away from his family now for almost three months and I can’t imagine how difficult it is. But everything that I’ve seen and heard, it’s all positive that the government wants to get this fixed,” says Fetterman. “It’s no one’s interest to turn this into a prison situation.”
He says he’s urging officials to be lenient when addressing the case.
Fetterman says, “we had Americans from Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia—but we all have one thing in common and that’s that it was an accident, and I’m hoping we can all come back home.”
Fetterman says he expects Hagerich to be sent home soon.
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