Ammo lands OK man in Caribbean slammer

If we're getting all the facts, these islands would be a good place to avoid:

https://kfor.com/news/local/woman-returns-home-husband-still-in-turks-and-caicos-facing-ammo-charge/

geeze. horrible.

Had the same happen to a buddy in Okinawa. We flew in to drop a plane off and flew commercial back home…he had 1 9mm shell in his golf bag. Oops!

Every time I have flown internationally I have pretty much torn apart luggage making sure it is completely empty before packing. Hard to have a lot of sympathy for anyone that makes that kind of easily preventable mistake. I truly hope he can get out of it but no one to blame but himself.

I have put stuff in luggage and forgot about it only to find it much later on other trips. I not sure how you forget ammo after a hunting trip but hey it happens.

I guess you all haven’t heard the Ratz story lol.

The worst part is that TSA didn't catch it on the outbound flight.

be a good reason not to go to Turks and Caicos plus this travel advisory.......

"What should I be careful about in Turks and Caicos?
Muggings and armed robberies, where victims are confronted by one or more armed criminals, are somewhat common in the Turks and Caicos."

Could be worse. He could be in a Turkish prison.

This is real... I was traveling interior Mexico in the late 80's and Federales found some muzzleloading roundballs in my toolbox at a checkpoint. We were detained for several hours until they could go through everything we owned.. they finally believed the story I made up about using the roundballs for a slingshot after paying off several people and offering sincere apology.

Why would he be in a Turkish prison?

He made a big mistake and I would bet money he won't spend time or be convicted.

I hope the state department has become involved in it.

But you live in Albany, GA?

The overall crime rate in Albany, GA, is 85% higher than the national average. The number of daily crimes in Albany per 100,000 residents is 16.87. Albany is safer than 6% of the countries in the United States. About 1 in 17 people in Albany are likely to be a victim of a crime.Feb 7, 2024

Tell me more about these Countries in the United States. Do I need a passport to get into Georgia?

have to agree that Albany does have some crime problems however most of it is black on black crime in the predominately black areas of south and east albany...

where do you live?

That happened to a guy from Andrews Tx yrs ago, took a wrong turn he said and had one bullet in his car, took months to get him out fo jail in Mexico.

I keep my hunting stuff in dedicated bags/backpacks/containers for this reason. Freaks me out going through airport security and accidentally having something even like a spent shell with me.

Warner Robins for now. Looking for land in Cumming or Dawsonville at the moment

this also happened to david fritts several years ago in Mexico....he and a couple of buddies were on deer hunting trip in mexico and as i recall it, they found some bullet worm weights in David's suburban....one of the guys was a lawyer and I think they still had to spend the night in jail plus they seized their suburban which I believe they got back later...
maybe someone with a better memory and more knowledge can furnish more info on this......

They most likely won't. The US Government / embassy / ambassador getting involved in a situation where an American is being held for a crime in a foreign country is something that only happens in the movies for the most part. You do see something being done occasionally, like the time Biden traded a woman basketball player for an arms dealer. But this guy is from the most conservative state in the union, so not much chance of any help. I do hope I'm wrong.

Another Hollywood fabrication: Try running into an American Embassy waving your passport like a spy being chased by filthy commies and they'll stop you at the door and tell you to make an appointment online - and the next available appointment is in two weeks, and that's only for passport issues.

I'm not judging the man, I'm just glad his bride is home safe.

And I think the whole country is a good place to avoid for now...

Yes you are correct…he made a HUGE mistake. But, to expect our government to bail him out is disgraceful. It isn’t our government’s responsibility, nor the responsibility of the people of the United States to bail him out. He made the mistake, let him foot his own bill and pay for his mistake. It is unfortunate, but fair.

What would you perspective be if it were the other way around. Someone comes to your town, from another country and commits a crime here, one that is a felony and has 12 years jail time, then his country comes and says,” sorry for your inconvenience, but he didn’t know your laws…we are gonna take him home where he knows the rules”.

The best thing a person can do is not get themselves into this kinda stuff when going to a foreign country.

What a Dumb@ss.

don't leave America

The OK Governor and a US Senator are involved in getting him out:

https://www.kfvs12.com/2024/04/24/m...usband-arrested-turks-caicos-ammunition/

You'd think the British wouldn't allow this harsh punishment on their lands. Thirty days in jail and a fine would have been sufficient.

Drove in to Mexico many many years back with several of my brother in laws at the time to go to Lake Guerrero fishing. Were stopped by the Federales on the way down and they discovered an empty .22 ammo box in the van we were in. They made us unload everything we had but thank goodness we were let go and continued on our way......

Happened to my FIL on a trip to Cayman. Made it there just fine and had a great week on the beach and then they found one 9mm round in the bottom of his backpack on the return. Granted he had been going there since the early 80’s so he had a substantial travel history to the island which helped but he was detained and had to spend an extra day locked up in a hotel room until he could see a magistrate. Luckily the magistrate realized it was not intentional and let him off with a fine and didn’t ban him from coming back. If you carry in the states you better double check your bags before you travel out of country. British territories do not play when it comes to the no guns thing. We figure he cleared his carry gun at some point and just forgot the loose round was there.

Maybe someone did find it and though F him, knowing that he would be screwed if someone found it on his return flight.

respectfully disagree.....there is big difference between smuggling ammunition into a country and a forgotten or overlooked shell in a backpack....one is a crime,other is a mistake and to put someone in jail 12 years for a mistake cannot be justified....and....that's one of the reasons we have diplomats and ambassadors ..is to assist citizens of this country in their dealings or visits to other countries...

Update: Ryan released on bail but must remain on islands:

https://www.koco.com/article/oklaho...ia-watson-charges-bullets-found/60597080

Fully agree.

He should change his name to Brittany

Having traveled a lot for my job at HP years ago you made a point of checking every bit of your luggage for ANYTHING that might be a problem in a foreign country. We all knew that every country we went to had different laws and we sure as he** didn't want to wind up in a foreign jail. The guy was careless...period. Probably thought..."I'm an American...nothing is gonna happen to me". Saw and heard that attitude more times than I could count when traveling overseas. Learned the rules of foreign travel from my boss who was a former State dept. overseas attache. Sorry the guy is in trouble and I hope he makes it home and learns this lesson well. Hopefully the embassy or consulate there can help him out of this situation.

TSA are boneheads(so am I in this story ). I was traveling to NYC last november and I had box of rounds in a backpack pocket I had forgot to check that I had used several weeks prior on a hunting trip. They questioned me about it and I told them I didn't have any ammo. When they pulled it out, I explained that I missed that pouch when I was emptying the back, and he proceeded to tell me I could take it carry on since it was under 50 rounds. I said no thanks, throw it in the garbage...

To clarify I didn't say that anyone should be bailed out. They should give him legal counsel on the issue and press the issue to the country.
As for myself, I am less likely to do stuff like that because I am cautious.
My brother has gotten in trouble with the law for drugs a couple times in his life and even though he is past that, I hope, I don't even like him riding with me, thinking a seed or a single pill could involve me.