LOUISA COUNTY, Va. -- Tyler Wenrich, of Louisa County, Virginia, was sentenced to three weeks in jail and ordered to pay a $9,000 fine after ammunition was found in his bag during a trip to Turks and Caicos, Kimo Tynes, the director of communications for the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, said in a news statement.
Since he had already served three weeks in custody, the court recognized it as time served so his prison sentence is complete, the release said.
"We ended up having to be at immigration for a while, because the cruise line didn't stamp Tyler's passport, but we are so happy and so elated that we can actually go home now," Wenrich's wife Jeriann told our Bill Fitzgerald. "It's just been very highs and lows all morning."
Wenrich, 31, was arrested and initially jailed on April 20 after customs authorities found two bullets in his backpack.
Turks and Caicos has strict gun laws and anyone possessing a firearm or ammunition faces a potential 12-year mandatory minimum sentence.
A total of five Americans have been arrested there in recent months, all for having small amounts of ammunition in their luggage.
But on Friday, Bryan Hagerich of Pittsburgh, PA, was sentenced to 52 weeks, with all of it suspended, and told to pay a $6,700 fine.
That result opened the window for the Wenrichs to imagine something similar for Tyler.
"That did give us some hope, but it was difficult because we have a different judge on a different island, and just more uncertainty than what we would hope for," said Jeriann Wenrich. "But we're happy with what we ended up getting," said Jeriann Wenrich.
Wenrich had been out on bond since after being held for about two weeks.
Jeriann says they will be home Thursday and Tyler will see his 18-month-old son for the first time in just over six weeks.
Watch: Another American, Bryan Hagerich of Pennsylvania, gets suspended sentence and heads home.
"After advocacy from my office and across Congress, I’m glad to see Virginia resident Tyler Wenrich receive a lenient sentence for mistakenly bringing just two hunting bullets to Turks and Caicos while on a cruise. Tyler never sought to break the law, so I’m deeply relieved that the justice system chose fairness and leniency over a 12-year prison sentence," U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D - Virginia) said in a statement following the hearing. " I’m thrilled he will be able to return home to Louisa County with his wife and one-year-old son, and I will continue advocating for the safe return of wrongly detained Americans across the world."
In a statement, Congressman Bob Good (R -5th District) said he too was pleased with the outcome.
"This is the result we were seeking on my trip with congressional colleagues last week to Turks & Caicos. We met with government officials to advocate for the release of all the American detainees who were facing 12-year prison sentences for accidental and non-threatening offenses," he said in a statement posted on X. "In Tyler's case, it was two stray rounds of ammunition that had fallen into the liner of his backpack. We are thankful to all who worked and prayed on Tyler's behalf."
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.
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