Brian Hagerich, a Pennsylvania father of two, has been at home nearly two weeks after being arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands and detained for more than 100 days after being found with ammunition in his luggage at the airport.
Haegerich, like four other Americans arrested in the same case since February, was unaware that there was ammunition in his suitcase as he was preparing to board a flight home from a family vacation, but still had to argue his way out of a minimum 12-year prison sentence for the crime.
A judge ultimately fined the 39-year-old former professional baseball player $6,500 and allowed him to return home. Hagerich now speaks out about the lack of support from the State Department and the “anti-American sentiment” of TCI government officials, though he says the locals have been kind and supportive.
“I had not heard from the State Department after being detained for over two months. I believe it was over 70 days. The first time I heard from them was after the case received national media attention,” Hagerich told Fox News Digital. “…Personal [with the State Department] The people who came to the island felt like it was more or less a check-the-box type of training. It was clear in their minds that we had committed a crime. We should basically go to prison for that.”
Pennsylvania father detained in Turks and Caicos for having ammunition in his luggage, pays fine and returns home
Brian Haigerich is greeted by his family upon arriving in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday, May 24, 2024. Haigerich was detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands for having ammunition in his luggage and was released to the United States on probation. (Matthew Simmons, Fox News Digital)
Haegerich also recalled a State Department official jokingly saying, “Why don’t you get on a boat? If you show up on U.S. soil, we’ll let you in.”
“Why don’t you get on a boat? If you show up on U.S. soil, they’ll have to let you in.”
Haegerich said the Defense Ministry’s handling of his situation “begs the question: Which side of the table are they on? Are they on the U.S. side or on Turkey’s side?”
“They really didn’t have anything to offer,” he said.
Brian Haegerich is a 39-year-old former professional baseball player from Pennsylvania and a father of two. (Handouts for families)
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the State Department and US embassies and consulates overseas have no priority over the safety and security of American citizens overseas.
Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained abroad, the State Department makes efforts to immediately meet with the individual, the spokesman added.
Americans arrested in Turks and Caicos sleep and pray together while awaiting sentencing: ‘Big family’
The State Department stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance if a U.S. citizen is arrested overseas, the spokesman said, noting that U.S. citizens generally comply with the laws of the country they travel to when traveling, even if those laws may differ from U.S. laws.
Brian Haigerich was welcomed back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday, May 24, 2024, by his family. Haigerich was detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands for having ammunition in his luggage and was released to the United States on probation. (Matthew Simmons, Fox News Digital)
Due to privacy considerations, the State Department did not comment further on the Americans recently arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Hagerich also took issue with the “anti-American sentiment” of the TCI staff handling his case, who he said prosecutors likened him to American murderers and to Britney Griner.
“We need to look at a different approach to solving this problem.”
“To be honest, they have a better idea of America’s fathers, mothers and grandmothers than they do of their own people. [committing crimes]”Looking back at the history and thinking about the domestic violence that’s been going on on the island, we need to look at a different approach to solving this problem. I can honestly say that 95 percent of the rank-and-file workers on the island have been very supportive of us,” Hagelich said.
Florida woman becomes fifth American detained in Turks and Caicos for possession of ammunition
Five more Americans have been arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands since February for having ammunition in their luggage. Two are still awaiting sentencing, including Ryan Watson of Oklahoma and Shalitta Greer of Florida.
Five Americans have been arrested at the airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands since February for smuggling ammunition: (From left) Michael Lee Evans (not pictured), Brian Hagerich, Tyler Wenrich, Ryan Watson and Shalitta Greer. (Turks and Caicos Islands Police/Dimitrios Kambouris)
“I can’t believe you’re still here. This must be for financial gain. This must be political,” Hagerich recalled, as he was stopped at a police station one day.
“We went on holiday and my biggest concern was making sure the kids had swimsuits, puddle jumpers and sunscreen,” Hagerich said. “There were no travel warnings and we didn’t think we were going to any areas that we felt were unsafe.”
A Virginia father, Michael Wenrich, was also arrested for having ammunition in his luggage (though in his case only two stray bullets found in the lining of his bag). He was released last week and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
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“There’s still a lot of crime on the island and it’s clearly not a deterrent,” Wenrich said, “so I think it would be beneficial for tourists and islanders to reconsider the provisions of the law that apply when there is no criminal intent.”
Wenrich said that unlike Hagerich, he was connected with the State Department immediately after being detained because his father contacted them on his behalf.
Tyler Wenrich and his family pose with Rep. Bob Good upon his return to Richmond, Virginia, Thursday, May 30, 2024. Wenrich was ordered to pay a $9,000 fine for unknowingly possessing ammunition in his luggage while visiting the islands. (Image direct from Fox News Digital)
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“They continued to be in touch as the process went on. I felt I had to press for more of their cooperation,” he said of the Justice Department. “I was fortunate to have one of my attorneys with me at the sentencing hearing, so I was able to get some sense of how the process works, hear the arguments, and understand how chaotic the courtroom is. I don’t know what they were doing behind the scenes.”
Haigerich and Wenrich expressed their gratitude to state and federal lawmakers, friends and family who helped them get home.
