Americans arrested in Turks and Caicos on ammunition charges form close bond while awaiting sentencing

COCKBURN TOWN — The airport was hectic as Ryan Watson and his wife were preparing to fly home to Oklahoma after celebrating his 40th birthday on the archipelago’s white sands.

A search of his duffel bag was slowing things down, but two of his friends who came along were ribbing him for it: He inadvertently left a few hunting rounds in the bag — a rookie mistake, but not a big deal, he thought.

But a law enforcement officer informed the tourist that possession of ammunition is a serious crime that could put years of prison time between him and the couple’s children, a 9-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl, waiting for them at home.

Watson and Sharitta Grier, two of the five Americans who have recently been detained in Turks and Caicos under a law that prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition, spoke to NBC News on Thursday ahead of the Friday sentencing of Bryan Hagerich, a U.S. citizen who was detained in a similar situation in February.