Turks and Caicos Ammo Case: Fifth American Sentenced, Returns Home
A Turks and Caicos judge has sentenced Sharitta Grier, the fifth and latest American arrested for carrying ammunition in their luggage, to a suspended sentence and a fine. Grier is expected to arrive back home in Florida on Thursday night.
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A Turks and Caicos judge on Thursday handed down a sentence for the fifth and latest American arrested in Turks and Caicos for having ammunition in their luggage since the beginning of the year.
Sharitta Grier, a 45-year-old mother and grandmother from Florida, received a 23-week suspended sentence and must pay a $1,500 fine. She is expected to arrive home in Florida on Thursday night.
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"I was shocked. I was actually shocked. I couldn't believe it," Grier told local news reporter Wilkie Arthur of Magnetic Media after her sentencing hearing, adding that she was "afraid" that she would get the mandatory 12-year sentence for tourists accused of carrying ammunition on the islands.
Grier was one of five Americans arrested since February on the islands while coming home from their vacations for the same crime, including Bryan Hagerich, 39, of Pennsylvania; Ryan Watson, 40, of Oklahoma; Tyler Wenrich, 31, of Virginia; and Michael Lee Evans, 72, of Texas.
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Security found ammo in all five Americans' bags as they were traveling home from the islands. Now, all five have been allowed to return home after getting suspended sentences and being ordered to pay fines.
Grier was arrested in May for having stray bullets in the lining of her bag after she recently purchased a firearm for her own protection. She previously told Fox News Digital in May that her brother owns a store that she sometimes closes at night and wanted a firearm in case of an emergency.
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"No intention to hurt anybody or anything. … I'm afraid of it myself. It's nothing to play around with," Grier said, adding that she "had no other reason" to own a gun other than for her own protection while closing her brother's store.
She added that she has never fired a gun in her life.
After her arrest, Grier temporarily lived in a rental home with Watson and Hagerich.
The trio spoke together with Fox News Digital via Zoom and shared how they had become friends over their weeks on the islands awaiting justice.
"It was important for her to have a room," Watson said of Grier at the time. "After hearing her story and what she went through, being shackled to a chair and having to sleep on the floor … it's heartbreaking. And we wanted to make sure that she had a safe place, a nice, comfortable bed to sleep in and have some privacy. There was no question, and it was a blessing for us to be able to bring Sharitta into the picture because we're all … a support system for one another. It's become a big family."
Grier's sentencing marks the conclusion of the Turks and Caicos ammo case, which has drawn attention to the island's strict gun laws. The mandatory 12-year sentence for tourists caught carrying ammunition has been criticized by some as being too harsh, especially for first-time offenders.
In response to the criticism, the Turks and Caicos government has recently backtracked on the law, announcing that it will no longer be mandatory for tourists to serve prison time for carrying ammunition. Instead, tourists will be given the option of paying a fine and being deported.
The government's decision is a welcome relief for tourists who may have been unknowingly carrying ammunition in their luggage. It also sends a message that the Turks and Caicos is committed to making its tourism industry more welcoming and less punitive.
