Virginia Man Reunited with Family After Detention in Turks and Caicos

A Virginia man who was detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands for three weeks over ammunition in his luggage was reunited with his family on Thursday. Tyler Wenrich, 31, was released after paying a $9,000 fine for unknowingly possessing the ammunition.

A Virginia man arrived at the Richmond airport on Thursday after he was released from custody on the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), where he had been detained for having ammunition in his luggage.

Tyler Wenrich – a 31-year-old husband and father – is one of five Americans arrested and detained on the islands since February for having stray ammunition in their luggage, a crime punishable for up to 12 years on the islands.

Wenrich was greeted by applause as he touched down at Richmond International Airport after spending three weeks in jail and paying $9,000 in fines for unknowingly possessing ammunition in his luggage while visiting the island nation.

"It feels good to be back with my wife and my kid," Wenrich told reporters after embracing gleeful friends and family. "I'm just exhausted and honestly happy to be back."

Wenrich said that his imprisonment and eventual release back to the U.S. was a "roller coaster," thanking his friends, family and elected officials.

"It's been a roller coaster, and I'm thankful for friends, family and representatives involved in trying to get us back," he said. "Rep. Bob Good and Chris Snyder have been fantastic, as well as a lot of the other representatives in trying to get us back home. We appreciate it."

The 31-year-old said that it was "going to be amazing" to get to hold his toddler son again.

"It's going to be amazing, just to hold him in my arms again," Wenrich said. "I didn't know if it was going to happen again."

He said that the past three weeks, since his imprisonment in the TCI, have been filled with "anxiety" and "excitement."

"It's been a lot of anxiety and a lot of excitement to see family again," he told reporters.

Wenrich was initially arrested on April 20 following a wedding party in Turks and Caicos and pleaded guilty in court on Monday, when both prosecutors and his defense team presented oral arguments, he told Fox News Digital.

Wenrich had traveled from Virginia to Florida, where he boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and then docked in Turks and Caicos. Cruise ship security found two stray bullets in his bag when he was about to board the ship to go back home.

Cruise ship authorities then sent Wenrich to local police, which is the moment he "knew things were going sideways."

The other Americans arrested in Turks for having stray ammo, including Sharitta Grier of Florida, Ryan Watson of Oklahoma and Michael Lee Evans of Texas, were arrested at airports on the islands.

"Everybody else has been at the airport, so that's a lot different than their cases," Wenrich said of his own case. "But as far as the charge goes, it's very similar. We were actually able to meet with them in person last week and go to lunch and kind of talk about those things, as well. But we keep in daily communication with each other."

Wenrich said the support he and his family have received from both friends and locals back home, as well as from the other Americans in Turks and Caicos, has been "phenomenal."

Governors Youngkin, Sitt and Shapiro sent a letter to Turks and Caicos Gov. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam to urge the release of Watson, Hagerich and Wenrich.

Various members of Congress have spoken publicly about the issue of Americans being detained in Turks and Caicos over ammunition possession. A congressional delegation met with TCI government leaders earlier this month to discuss the potential release of Americans detained over the ammunition ordinance, to no avail.