Another visitor to Turks and Caicos was arrested at Howard Hamilton International Airport Monday after ammunition was allegedly found during a routine security check, The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands police force confirmed Tuesday.
The island’s police force confirmed the most recent arrest. Two island media outlets are reporting it was an American woman, though police did not confirm that detail. This would be the fifth American detained there on possession of ammunition charges in the past six months and it comes as Tyler Wenrich – one of the Americans currently detained on the island on the same charges -- was in court.
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Wenrich was in court Monday. His father tells NBC10 Boston the judge said he had received a practice and direction order from the chief justice with an expedited timeline for the case.
Written arguments in the case will be submitted within seven days and oral arguments and a plea hearing are now scheduled for next Tuesday. Sentencing for Wenrich could happen next week or by May 28 at the latest.
Wenrich was arrested on April 20. He was a passenger on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and had been on a day excursion on Grand Turk. Royal Caribbean security found two bullets in his bag as he reboarded the ship and turned him over to TCI authorities.
In comparison, the cases of Americans Michael Lee Evans of Texas, who was arrested in December, Bryan Hagerich of Pennsylvania who was charged in February and Ryan Watson of Oklahoma who was arrested in early April are still ongoing. NBC10 Boston was the first to break the story of Watson and Hagerich's detainment.
The Wenrichs were not given an explanation for why the case is being expedited.
Hagerich is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29 and Watson’s next court date is June 7.
Evans is facing a sentencing hearing currently scheduled for June 18.
All of the men face a possible 12-year prison sentence under TCI’s guns and ammunition law, but judges can consider exceptional circumstances.
The four men have all admitted to being in possession of bullets but say it was an innocent mistake.
