OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — On Friday, an Edmond man who had been detained in Turks and Caicos over ammunition possession returned home after being arrested on Apr. 12.
A trip to paradise turned into a nightmare after Ryan Watson said he accidentally left several rounds of ammunition in his luggage from an earlier hunting trip.
The island chain outlaws possession of ammunition and firearms.
“I’m only left to assume that the ammunition had fallen into the lining of the bag,” Watson told KTUL on May 24.
Up until recently, possession of ammunition entailed a 12-year minimum prison sentence in Turks and Caicos.
On Monday, the islands’ governor signed a law allowing judges more flexibility in cases like Watson’s to prevent overly harsh punishments amid public outcry and pressure from U.S. lawmakers.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R) posted about the good news on X, sharing pictures from the Watson family.
A spokesman for the family underscored one area he said needs improvement to prevent similar incidents in the future during a Thursday interview with FOX 25.
Jon Franks with the Bring Our Families Home Campaign asserted, “TSA was in a clear position to prevent this, right? They’ve made statements that they screwed up at the airport, right, and that’s wonderful. I mean, it’s great that they have acknowledged it and are taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But from the islands’ perspective, TSA should be catching all this stuff.”
On Friday morning, a judge handed down a suspended sentence of 13 weeks in prison to Watson.
Because it was a suspended sentence, he won’t have to serve time unless he commits a crime in Turks and Caicos in the next nine months.
After getting the judgment, Watson, his wife Valerie, and his parents left the islands.
However, while there, Ryan tried to make the best of the situation with the help of his wife and supporters.
“One of the things that they have done to give this ordeal that they’ve been in meaning was you know to go to a Christian school this morning and donate those Bibles,” noted Franks on Thursday.
On top of Watson’s suspended prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine—equal to $500 per bullet found in his luggage.
A man from Texas, a man from Virginia, and a woman from Florida also faced similar charges in Turks and Caicos.
The men are back in the U.S. but the Florida woman is still waiting for her sentencing on the islands.
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