Yet Another American Arrested at Turks and Caicos Airport With Ammunition Found in Luggage and Faces 12-Year Prison Term

One of many signs in New York City reminding the public that they are in a gun-free zone.
Yet another American citizen was arrested for carrying ammunition in her luggage at Howard Hamilton International Airport as she preparing to fly home after a visit to the Caribbean territory.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police said in a statement that 45-year-old Sharitta Shinise  of Orlando, Florida, was charged with one count of ammunition possession after two rounds of ammunition were discovered in her luggage during a routine security search at the aerodrome.
Shinise’s arrest brings the number of U.S. citizens currently facing charges for illegal ammunition possession in the British territory to five. Four of the five have said that did in fact bring ammunition into the country, albeit by mistake.
The first, Bryan Hagerich, was arrested after bullets were found in his checked baggage in February of this year.
“I subsequently spent eight nights in their local jail,” Hagerich said in an interview with CBS News. “Some of the darkest, hardest times of my life, quite frankly.”
Ryan Watson, a 40-year-old father of two, made headlines in early April when ammunition was found in his baggage by airport security last month. Watson is out on bail but confined to the island while his case moves through the criminal justice system. He is required to check in at the Grace Bay Police Station every Tuesday and Thursday and faces a mandatory minimum 12-year prison term.
Just days later, Tyler Wenrich was detained preparing to board a cruise ship. He too faces a minimum 12-year sentence.
Since late 2022, eight firearms and ammunition charges have been brought against U.S. citizens visiting the territory. The reason for the sudden uptick is a court ruling in February that no longer permitted tourists merely pay a fine when charged with possession ether a gun or ammunition, which is illegal in Turks and Caicos.
The situation is not unique to the British territory, however.
Hundreds of Americans have been arrested at New York City- area airports with either weapons, ammunition, or both, in recent years and charged with a felony, although prosecutors there tend to be fairly lenient in cases where the traveler was following Transportation Security Administration procedures for securing a weapon when flying but didn’t check to see whether such weapons were legal at either his final destination or intermediate stop.
“You are responsible for knowledge of and compliance with all Federal, State or local laws regarding the possession and transportation of firearms,” Delta Air Lines warns travelers on its website.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)