Southwest
Americans arrested in Turks and Caicos face 12 years in prison over 'innocent mistake': 'Never dawned on us'
Multiple Americans are facing minimum 12-year prison sentences for unknowingly having ammunition or bullets in their luggage while traveling home from Turks and Caicos.
Ryan Watson, a father of two from Oklahoma, and Tyler Wenrich, a father of a 1-year-old toddler from Virginia, were both arrested and detained this month after Turks and Caicos airport security found bullets in their luggage while they were returning from their vacations on the island.
“At some point, [airport security] extracted a baggie that had four hunting bullets that I use for deer hunting. And I was just as surprised as anybody else that they made that discovery,” Watson told Fox News Digital. “I don’t recall ever putting those bullets in that bag. I can make an assumption that I used that bag on weekend trips and I had — back in November — used that bag … for my deer-hunting trip in Texas.”
Now, Watson — who was celebrating several of his friends’ 40th birthdays on the islands — faces a minimum of 12 years in prison if his efforts for justice in court aren’t successful. A recent mandate passed in February subjects Turks and Caicos tourists to more than a decade of prison time for leaving the country with bullets in their bags. His wife, Valerie, was arrested alongside her husband on April 12, but authorities released her on Tuesday.
OKLAHOMA MAN WITH AMMO IN TURKS AND CAICOS AIRPORT FACES 12 YEARS IN PRISON: ‘RISK OF LOSING EVERYTHING’
Ryan and Valerie Watson were arrested in Turks and Caicos on April 12 after island airport officials found ammunition in Ryan’s carry-on bag. Valerie was released, but Ryan faces up to 12 years in prison. (GoFundMe)
“I thought that was an intimidation tactic at first,” Ryan Watson said of the potential 12-year sentence that was explained to him upon his arrest.
OKLAHOMA AIRPORT UNDER TSA MICROSCOPE AFTER TURKS AND CAICOS JAILS DAD FOUND WITH AMMO
Watson was released on $15,000 bail after the driver he hired for his weeklong vacation put up his vehicle “as what they call surety,” Watson said.
A Turks and Caicos court confirmed that Ryan Watson was granted $15,000 bail for the ammunition possession charge. (Turks and Caicos police)
“So it has to be a local that has an asset of the equivalent value of your bail. And so he put up his vehicle, which is his way to make a living. He put up the title of that vehicle in order for us to get bail,” Watson explained.
The father of two is now staying at a local residence because he cannot leave Turks and Caicos under the conditions of his release until his trial.
The Oklahoma father has been in touch with at least five other Americans who are facing the same fate, including Tyler Wenrich, who remains in jail after being arrested on April 20.
Tyler Wenrich is also facing a minimum 12-year prison sentence after two stray bullets were found in his bag while traveling home from Turks and Caicos. (Michael Wenrich)
“Double check. Triple check. Quadruple check. Because … an innocent mistake like this now has … it’s affecting a lot of families,” Wenrich’s father, Michael Wenrich, told Fox News Digital.
WATCH:
Both men, who are legal gun owners in the U.S., got through TSA security in American airports without being flagged prior to their trips.
Ryan and Valerie Watson on vacation in Turks and Caicos. (Facebook)
Now, TSA is investigating Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, where Watson flew out of to get to the islands.
“[I]t never dawned on us.”
“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 said. “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.”
Valerie Watson similarly said her family realizes their story “may hurt” tourism in Turks and Caicos, which her family does not want to happen because the locals they met there “are such good-hearted people.”
Wenrich flew from Virginia to Florida, where he boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise for a “wedding party,” all without the bullets being detected, his dad said. The cruise docked, and the party spent some time in Grand Turk before Wenrich was eventually detained when he was caught with two stray bullets in his bag while returning home.
Wenrich flew from Virginia to Florida, where he boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise for a “wedding party,” all without the bullets being detected. (TCI Police)
The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas currently has a travel alert that says “[f]irearms, ammunition (including stray bullets), and other weapons are not permitted in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI),” adding that “TCI authorities strictly enforce all firearms-and-ammunition-related laws.”
“If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, even inadvertently, we will not be able to secure your release from custody.”
“The penalty for traveling to TCI with a firearm, ammunition, or other weapon can result in a minimum custodial sentence of twelve (12) years,” the Embassy states in the alert. “If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, even inadvertently, we will not be able to secure your release from custody. You are subject to TCI laws and must follow local law enforcement procedures.”
Tyler Wenrich and Ryan Watson are both set to appear in court in Turks and Caicos on June 7. (Michael Wenrich)
Valerie thanked the public and government leaders for their outpouring of support for her family, saying she and their children just want Ryan home.
“We really strive to just raise our kids to be good people. We strive to be good people and do good for others. We would never intentionally do anything that would put anybody in harm,” she said. ” And the amount of support that people have shown us through all of this in just so many different ways, through prayer, through the GoFundMe … our government officials, doing everything they can to help and support us. I mean, it is humbling and we are so grateful. … We want Ryan to come home so that he can be with our kids and our family.”
Both Watson and Wenrich are set to appear in court on June 7.
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Southwest
Man arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges outside Nancy Guthrie’s home after sobriety test
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TUCSON, Ariz. — A 34-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night outside the Arizona home where Nancy Guthrie went missing earlier this month, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies arrested 34-year-old Antonio De Jesus Pena-Campos in front of Guthrie’s home on misdemeanor DUI charges, the department said.
The arrest is not related to the Guthrie investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department added.
Pima County sheriff’s deputies stopped a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. A man was later taken into custody after what appeared to be field sobriety testing. (Fox News)
Footage shows Pima County sheriff’s deputies shining a flashlight into the driver’s side of what appeared to be a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV parked near the home where Guthrie was last seen Feb. 1.
Moments later, deputies spoke with Pena-Campos near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside as a deputy shined a flashlight toward the man’s face.
In another sequence, Pena-Campos walks in a straight line in what appears to be part of a field sobriety test. In subsequent footage, he is placed in the back of a sheriff’s pickup truck.
The man was detained as investigators continue searching for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing Feb. 1 after authorities said she was taken during a home invasion. Investigators have said her pacemaker last synced with her iPhone around 2:30 a.m. that morning.
Her family has since offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return as authorities continue to pursue leads.
NANCY GUTHRIE’S NEIGHBOR SAW SUSPICIOUS MAN WALKING NEARBY 2 WEEKS BEFORE SUSPECTED ABDUCTION
A deputy shines a flashlight toward a man’s face during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. The man was later taken into custody. (Fox News)
The development comes after a Catalina Foothills resident’s street-facing Ring camera captured 12 vehicles passing by between midnight and 6 a.m. on Feb. 1, the morning Guthrie is believed to have been abducted.
Some of the activity occurred around the 2:30 a.m. mark, roughly when authorities said the 84-year-old’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone.
A man walks in a straight line under the direction of deputies during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
Homeowners Elias and Danielle Stratigouleas told Fox News Digital that police had not canvassed their neighborhood in the 25 days since Guthrie was allegedly taken from her bed in what authorities have described as a home invasion kidnapping.
The couple said they alerted both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the footage. It was not immediately clear whether the video would prove useful to investigators or whether any of the vehicles had traveled on Guthrie’s street.
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Pima County sheriff’s deputies speak with a man near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
The Stratigouleas home sits on a back road that leads out of Guthrie’s neighborhood and avoids major intersections. The property is approximately 2½ miles — or about a seven-minute drive — from the crime scene, according to Google Maps.
One of the videos was recorded at approximately 2:36 a.m., roughly eight minutes after Guthrie’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone, based on the sheriff’s timeline.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Olivia Palombo contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Trump introduces Cornyn, Paxton but stays mum on endorsement in heated GOP primary
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The Texas Senate primary for Republicans is a bloodbath, and President Donald Trump isn’t wading in.
Trump, who appeared in Corpus Christi, Texas, to tout his energy agenda Friday, had the opportunity to stake his claim in the contentious race and endorse a candidate.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the longtime incumbent fending off seven challengers.
But the real race is between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.
President Donald Trump stops to speak to the media as he departs from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C. ( Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
All three were in attendance at Trump’s rally, reminiscent of the made-for-TV spectacles that dominated his successful 2024 election campaign. Yet Trump didn’t endorse any of them as Election Day in the primary fast approaches.
Trump acknowledged all three — he paired Cornyn and Paxton and mentioned Hunt later in his remarks. He noted that they were all engaged in an “interesting election.”
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
HUNT FILES POLICE REPORT AGAINST CORNYN CAMPAIGN STAFFER OVER ALLEGED FAMILY ‘DOXXING’ INCIDENT
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, R-Texas (Getty Images)
Cornyn is running for a fifth term in the Senate and fighting for his political life in a nasty primary election that Trump has time and again refused to weigh in on. He’s got the full weight of Senate Republican leadership behind him, too.
Paxton, who has faced headwinds with scandals over the years, has strongly aligned himself with the president and built a coalition of conservative backers in the House, including Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who brought him to Trump’s State of the Union earlier this week.
And while the trio duke it out, money is being burned at a record pace. So far, a whopping $110 million has been spent on the Senate primaries, and $88 million of that has been dumped into the GOP contest, according to data from AdImpact.
CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, walks up the House steps for a vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. Capitol April 10, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Given the crowded field, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff, which will turn into a brutal sprint until late May. Paxton believes he could come out on top with at least 50% of the vote come March 3, while Cornyn is eying the long game.
The coveted Trump endorsement could put either over the top in ruby red Texas. And he may be close to picking his favorite.
Ahead of the event, Trump was asked if he had decided who to endorse.
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“Pretty much,” he told reporters.
But when asked if he would say who, he said, “No.”
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Southwest
Jasmine Crockett reveals Colbert hasn’t invited her on show since furor over Talarico interview
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, revealed Friday she’s still not been asked to appear on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” days after the host claimed pressure from the Federal Communications Commission effectively censored an interview with her Senate primary political opponent, James Talarico.
Earlier this week, Colbert said CBS prevented the broadcast of Talarico’s appearance due to guidance from the FCC requiring shows to provide “equal time” to opposing candidates.
In response, the late-night host criticized the FCC and his own network. The Talarico interview was posted online, where it has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube alone. The tumult and extra attention to the interview helped raise more than $2.5 million for Talarico’s campaign.
“No, I’ve not been invited on Colbert prior to his interview nor post his interview,” Crockett said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” Friday.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett speaks to members of the media following a House Oversight and Accountability Committee deposition in New Albany, Ohio, on Wednesday, Feb. 18. (Dustin Franz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Crockett explained that while she has appeared on Colbert’s show twice before, she has not been invited since she launched her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
“The only information that I got was after this debacle took place, I did receive a phone call from the parent company,” Crockett said.
She said that CBS representatives told her they did not tell Colbert he couldn’t air the Talarico segment. Instead, they said that if he had Talarico on, he had to offer the same time to Crockett.
COLBERT FUMES AT CBS, SAYS IT BARRED HIM FROM INTERVIEWING TEXAS DEM AMID FCC CRACKDOWN
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, left, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, both Democrats and U.S. Senate candidates, participate in a debate during the 2026 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas, on Jan. 24. (Bob Daemmrich/The Texas Tribune/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They just said, if you air it, just make sure that you offer the representative equal time. Now, obviously, I wasn’t engaged in that conversation, so I cannot confirm the veracity of any statements,” she said.
“But I can confirm that I had never been asked to go on as it relates to kind of talking about the Senate race,” Crockett added.
CBS released a statement denying it censored Colbert, insisting the show chose to share the interview on YouTube instead to avoid the equal-time requirement.
‘THE VIEW’ PANEL ERUPTS AS GUEST DEFENDS TRUMP AGAINST RACISM CLAIMS
Texas state Rep. James Talarico appears with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” in New York on Feb. 16. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
However, during Monday night’s broadcast, Colbert insisted he and his guest were being censored, telling his audience, “[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
The media attention and Colbert’s multiple segments this week about the controversy provided a boon to Talarico’s campaign. On Tuesday, Colbert crumpled up the CBS statement denying it had forced the comedian not to air the interview and put it into a dog waste bag before throwing it away.
On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr dismissed the controversy as a “hoax,” stating that Talarico “took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.”
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A spokesperson for Colbert’s show didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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