(CMR) Amid concerns about several US citizens being arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands for ammunition, last week, a judge issued a suspended 52-month sentence to Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvania dad of two and former pro baseball player who pleaded guilty.
Hagerich (39) was one of five Americans arrested and detained in the TCI since February for having ammunition in their luggage, a crime punishable by up to 12 years in prison. The other Americans include Ryan Watson (40) of Oklahoma; Sharitta Grier (45), of Florida; Tyler Wenrich (31), of Virginia; and Michael Lee Evans (72), of Texas.
“He will be released shortly,” Hagerich's spokesperson, Jonathan Franks, said in a Friday tweet.
Hagerich was also ordered to pay a $6,500 fine.
“From the day that I was arrested, the end goal was to get off the island and go home to my family. To think that that day is potentially tomorrow, it's every emotion under the sun,” Hagerich told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“There's obviously a lot of anxiety. There [are] a lot of prayers… from families, friends, folks we don't even know across the world right now, to hopefully bring that outcome,” he added.
Hagerich said his attorneys “made a very, very strong case” in his defense after he pleaded guilty.
Several politicians applauded the judge's decision on Friday. Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said Hagerich's suspended sentence is “great news” in a Friday post on X.
“I’m grateful that the authorities in Turks and Caicos exercised leniency and that Bryan Hagerich will soon be on his way home to his family in Somerset,” Casey wrote.
Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler said that while he is “overjoyed to see Bryan Hagerich will be returning to Pennsylvania and reuniting with his wife and two children, this terrifying situation should have never happened to him, or the four other Americans still awaiting sentencing.”
“As the Turks and Caicos government works to handle future cases, the British territory must ensure the safety and wellbeing of U.S. tourists. I won’t rest until Americans can once again set foot on their islands without putting their livelihoods at risk,” the congressman said.