An Oklahoman jailed in Turks and Caicos since April is headed back home on Friday.
Ryan Watson is one of five Americans caught up in in what has been a months-long saga of U.S. citizens coming to the island and then being arrested under the nation’s strict gun control laws.
“We’re coming for you Oklahoma,” Watson said with his wife smiling next to him before he boarded a plane taking him back home.
Turks and Caicos, in an effort to calm severe gang violence, passed a gun control law that bans even the possession and importation of loose ammunition in the country, even if there is no gun to fire the bullet with.
Watson had four live rounds in his bag from a previous hunting trip he forgot about in one of the bags he brought into the country when he, his wife and two children were visiting the country in April.
The arrests of five Americans was enough to prompt a visit to the island by a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Oklahoma U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) and U.S. Representative Josh Brecheen (R-Eastern Oklahoma) in which terms of release were talked about in addition to if the island didn’t change its laws to recognize simple mistakes instead of intentional acts, the U.S. could cut back on how it views the nation as a safe place for Americans to visit.
Watson pleaded guilty earlier this month and then awaited his sentence, which came down Friday.
While awaiting his sentence, Turks and Caicos changed its law to only allow for a hefty fine for bringing in loose ammunition into the country instead of requiring a prison sentence.
Watson was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine ($500 for each live round found) and he received a suspended prison sentence.
According to court observers, the judge in the case said prison time was too strong and not appropriate and then scolded the U.S. Transportation Security Administration for not catching the round on their end when Watson was flying out of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City at the start of his vacation travels.
TSA has since said it has taken disciplinary and corrective action at Will Rogers to emphasize the importance of looking for live rounds.
A welcome home party is expected for Watson at Will Rogers on Friday night when he steps off the plane and sees his children for the first time in months.
Sharitta Grier is the fifth and final American citizen found with live rounds in her luggage still under arrest on Turks and Caicos. Grier said she and her family share luggage, and she didn’t know there were any bullets in her bag that had lodged themselves in the lining of the luggage she brought with her to Turks and Caicos until they were found by airport security on the island.
Source link
