MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — The Pennsylvania man who was arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands for having ammunition in his luggage returned home to western Pennsylvania on Friday.
After a months-long ordeal, Bryan Hagerich of Somerset County received a 52-week suspended sentence Friday, allowing him to fly home after paying a $6,700 fine.
Hagerich landed at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday around 9:30 p.m. and hugged her children after getting off the escalators to collect her luggage. Hagerich held his children in the air for about 15 seconds before kneeling to hug them.
Credit: KDKA
“We have a lot to catch up on, a lot of memories to make together,” Hagerich said. “So glad to see them. They've been so strong through it all.”
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler were also at the airport to greet the Pennsylvania man Friday night. Fetterman and Reschenthaler were part of a group of lawmakers who urged officials in the Turks and Caicos Islands to release Americans detained there.
Hagerich was arrested in February for having ammunition in his checked bag. He said he did not realize he had left the rifle cartridges in the bag.
Possessing a gun or ammunition is prohibited in Turks and Caicos, but previously tourists could often only pay a fine. In February, a court order ordered that even tourists in the process of leaving the country be subject to jail time. Hagerich pleaded guilty to possessing 20 rifle cartridges.
There are four other Americans facing similar charges in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Haygrich hopes her case will set a precedent and that these other Americans will return home soon.
