OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma City metro couple, coming home from a dream vacation, has been caught in a Caribbean nightmare.
Ryan and Valerie Watson went on a birthday trip with friends to Turks and Caicos in early April. Airport security found bullets in the couple’s duffle bag when they arrived for their return flight.
Valerie was released April 22 and her charges were dropped, after being detained for 11 days on the island. She returned home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday. McIntyre Law Chopper 4 captured the moments her plane touched down at Will Rogers World Airport. Inside the airport, her two children, loved ones and friends waited for her. They were emotional as she walked out of the terminal.
“I didn’t know when it was going to happen,” said Valerie. “I was prepared to also be arrested Monday and just to get to hold my babies, that’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”
Her husband, however, is still in custody in Turks and Caicos. He has been waiting for his hearing on charges of suspicion of possession of ammunition. He was expected to go before a magistrate on Tuesday but his hearing was pushed back.
Ryan said the bullets, found in a ziplock bag after several searches by security, were left behind after a previous hunting trip.
“I had no idea that they were in there,” said Ryan. “I would have never, ever intentionally brought them. I had no reason.”
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The couple was questioned and taken into custody after security found the ammunition.
“At that time (security) had referenced a law and told me that I was going to be looking at 12 years in prison,” said Ryan.
The Turks and Caicos Islands recently passed tougher penalties for possession of weapons and ammunition. Those new regulations raised the mandatory minimum prison sentence to 12 years. The family now has fears over Ryan’s fate. They face a financial burden the longer he is kept on the island and away from his job.
“This is something that we may never recover from,” said Ryan.
“What if we lose our house, which, when we moved to Oklahoma we built a home that we thought was our forever home. We prayed over it. We blessed every room,” said Valerie.
In recent cases, it has taken several months for tourists charged with weapon possession in Turks and Caicos to have their cases heard, leaving the Watson family even more concerned.
“I know our life is different and our goal is to get Ryan home because we can’t be a family without Dad,” said Valerie. If you would like to help the Watson family, click here.
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