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The mother of a Florida woman shared her plea for help after her daughter was arrested for carrying ammunition at an airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Sharitta Shinese Grier, 45, was the fifth American to be arrested and detained in TCI after being caught with ammunition in an airport since February, along with Ryan Watson of Oklahoma, Tyler Wenrich of Virginia, Bryan Hagerich of Pennsylvania and Michael Lee Evans of Texas.
Willie Lucas, Grier’s mother, said that it was heartbreaking leaving her daughter at the island and returning to their home in Florida.
“I didn’t want to come home,” Lucas told FOX 35.
FLORIDA WOMAN BECOMES 5TH AMERICAN ARRESTED IN TURKS AND CAICOS FOR CARRYING AMMO
Five Americans have been arrested in Turks and Caicos since February for carrying ammo in airports on the island. From left to right: Michael Lee Evans (no photo), Bryan Hagerich, Tyler Wenrich, Ryan Watson and Sharitta Grier (Turks and Caicos Police/ Dimitrios Kambouris )
Lucas shared her hope that her daughter would stay safe, asking people to keep her family in their prayers.
“Be safe when you go out of town. Just be safe. Be careful and keep us in your prayers, cuz God knows we sure gonna need it,” Lucas said.
A map pinpointing Turks and Caicos Islands. Five Americans are detained in Tuks and Caicos Islands for having ammunition while at the airport. (Google Maps)
Chanchy Willis, Grier’s cousin, said that the ammunition that was found was “just a horrible mistake.”
“Just for two bullets? It was just a horrible mistake for all five,” Willis said.
3 US GOVERNORS ASK TURKS AND CAICOS TO RELEASE AMERICANS DETAINED OVER AMMO
After posting bail, Grier joined four other Americans in a rental property on the island as they awaited an uncertain future.
The five could each potentially face up to 12 years in prison.
“Watching the others and how they are close-knit, and reaching out to her, showing her that she’s not alone, they are all in this together, that brings joy to my heart,” Willis said..
Americans detained in Turks and Caicos, including Oklahoma man Ryan Watson and Virginia man Tyler Wenrich, are facing up to 12 years in prison for inadvertently having stray ammo in their luggage. (Getty Images/ Watson family/ Wenrich family)
Watson, Hagerich and Wenrich’s father previously spoke with Fox News Digital about their arrests over stray ammunition found in their luggage.
All three men have said they were traveling home from their respective vacations when TCI airport security officials found stray bullets in their bags.
The three men have also said they had no intention of bringing ammo to the islands but had forgotten it in their bags from prior hunting trips.
“We had no intentions of ever bringing anything into this country. . . . It was just trying to pack board shorts and flip-flops, and that was all we were concerned about bringing,” Watson previously told Fox News Digital. “So … it never dawned on us to research any of these things. And there are a lot of locals that have been just such a blessing and have had such gracious hearts.”
Bryan Hagerich, a 39-year-old former pro-baseball star and father of two from Pennsylvania, appeared in court in Turks and Caicos Friday, when a judge said he must stay on the islands for another three weeks until his sentencing, (family handout)
The detainees must argue before the TCI Superior Court that they were arrested under “exceptional circumstances,” which includes proving they have no prior criminal record, they did not intend to bring ammunition into the airport and why a 12-year sentence would be excessive in their cases.
Grier is scheduled to appear before a judge on July 5.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.
