Wife reveals horrific prison conditions her husband has endured since being arrested in Turks and Caicos for having ammo in his luggage

The wife of an American father facing 12 years in Turks and Caicos prison after loose bullets were found in his luggage has told of her heartbreak as she pleads for him not to be punished for an 'innocent mistake.' 

Tyler Wenrich, 31, was arrested April 20 after two 9mm bullets were discovered when he departed a bachelor party cruise, as his wife Jeriann told DailyMail.com she has only been able to speak to him for one minute since. 

'It's very scary, my husband just went on a short couple day vacation,' she said. 'I just broke down, I was just so afraid that he won't come home for a simple mistake.' 

She revealed that he was forced to spend days locked up in a squalid prison cell with only his shoes for pillows.  

Tyler is one of at least three American men facing the same charges on the tropical islands, with Oklahoma father-of-two Ryan Watson and former baseball player Bryan Hagerich also claiming accidental bullets were found in their luggage. 

 Tyler Wenrich, 31, pictured with his wife Jeriann, is facing 12 years in prison after two 9mm bullets were found in his luggage on April 20 as he departed a bachelor party cruise 

Tyler, pictured on the bachelor party cruise where the bullets were found, was described by his wife as an 'amazing father'. She added: 'It's over a decade that he wouldn't be a part of our son's life... he'd grow up without a main father figure and every boy should have that' 

Wenrich (seen in his mugshot) was charged with ammunition possession, which carries a 12-year mandatory sentence in Turks and Caicos 

Tyler was moved to HM Prison Grand Turk (pictured), where he spent over a week without any contact with his wife

 Jeriann, a dental hygienist, told DailyMail.com that Tyler, a paramedic, faced a terrifying ordeal as soon as he was arrested, as he was thrown in a squalid Turks and Caicos jail for two days while awaiting bail. 

'The conditions were horrible,' Jeriann said. 'It was basically a cinder block room, he had three little windows, no screens, no AC, he didn't really have a bed... there was nothing in the cell at all really.' 

'He said he had to use his shoes as pillows,' she added.  

Tyler's bail was later set at $15,000 - $10,000 more than Ryan Watson's bail - and because it was a cash bond, the young father was moved to a prison and left in custody for 11 days in total as his loved ones worked to make bail. 

His bail was posted hours before Jeriann revealed her husband's torment, but Tyler will be forced to spend another night in a hellhole prison while it is processed. 

After his arrest, Jeriann said she was only able to speak to her husband for one minute through a jailhouse phone, which she said was a 'shock' as she initially thought it was merely a check-in call as he finished his cruise. 

'At first, I was so excited because I hadn't really spoken to him in days,' she said. 'By the end of it I was just overwhelmed and crying.' 

In years past, ammunition possession only carried a small fine in Turks and Caicos. However, in 2022, the nation passed stricter laws that mandated a 12-year minimum sentence for ammunition possession. 

While understanding that the country has a right to 'their own laws', Jeriann said she can't understand why the punishment for merely ammunition without a firearm carries such an 'extreme' punishment. 

'To put a minimum sentence of 12 years seems a little outrageous,' she said. 'With such an honest mistake, you shouldn't have to go through so many days in prison.' 

Tyler and Jeriann welcomed a baby son only 18-months ago, and she said the prospect of Tyler not being around for their son's childhood is 'terrifying.' 

'He's an amazing father and I couldn't ask for a better partner in life to help raise our child,' she continued. 

'It's over a decade that he wouldn't be a part of our son's life, and I know I can be his mom, but he'd grow up without a main father figure and every boy should have that.' 

Jeriann told DailyMail.com that the prospect of Tyler being locked up for over a decade  is 'terrifying', adding: 'It's very scary, my husband just went on a short couple day vacation' 

Jeriann and Tyler welcomed a baby son 18-months ago  

Jeriann added that the bullets in Tyler's luggage were leftover 9mm firearm ammunition, and said they were left over accidentally as Tyler often enjoys going to the shooting range as a hobby. 

'He does like target shooting and goes to the range,' she said. 'He's so safe with (guns), with an 18-month-old they're never even out in view.'

'We take gun safety very seriously.'  

Tyler next has a June 7 scheduled court date, reports Caribbean Loop News. 

Jeriann said that now Tyler is set to be out on bail, he will have more opportunity to speak with his attorneys and make a 'plan of action.' 

'His main focus right now is to get out from behind bars and take a breath,' she concluded. 

It comes as several other American fathers are facing the same fate. 

Ryan Watson was arrested on April 11 after a dream 40th birthday vacation with friends quickly turned into a nightmare as four loose hunting bullets were found on his carry-on luggage on his departing flight. 

The crime used to only carry a small fine, however Turks and Caicos lawmakers escalated the penalties in 2022 to mandate a 12-year minimum sentence. 

The surge in recent arrests also comes despite a warning sent out by US travel officials in 2023 in response to the updated law, alerting Americans to double check their luggage for loose bullets or firearms.  

After he was bailed out of jail, Watson had his passport seized by officials, and was trapped on the island alongside his wife Valerie - who faced the same charges until they were dropped Monday. 

Heartwarming footage captured the moment Valerie was reunited with their two young children in Oklahoma after weeks apart, but the family are still left in the dark about Ryan's fate. 

After weeks stuck on the Caribbean islands, cameras captured the moment Valerie was reunited with the couple's two young children in Oklahoma 

Ryan Watson (pictured with his wife Valerie and their two young children) is facing 12 years in prison in Turks and Caicos after a handful of deer hunting bullets were found in his luggage

In an interview before their first court hearing, Valerie said the possibility of facing 12 years in prison left her 'terrified' because they have two young children 

In an interview with the Today Show, Ryan said he 'can't set any kind of expectations on when I can be home to those kids', as he described his ordeal as 'the most awful thing I have ever lived through.' 

He said getting back to his children is 'and always will be, my ultimate goal.' 

As cameras captured Valerie returning home, she said it was a bittersweet moment as her husband's case remains in limbo.

'I've been thinking about this moment for a while, and I didn't know when it was going to happen. I was prepared to also be arrested yesterday,' she told KOCO.

'I don't know if I even have words to describe it, just getting to hold them again. It just filled my momma heart and made me so happy.

'It just gives me a lot of comfort knowing that I get to be here with them now, but my wife heart is still breaking because Ryan is not with me.' 

As Watson discussed his 'bonehead mistake' that landed him in hot water, he told CBS News before his first court hearing that his heart sank as soon as he saw the bullets, which he recognized from a recent white tail deer hunting trip.

'I recognized them and thought, 'what a bonehead mistake,'' he said. 'I had no idea that those were in there.'

Ryan said officials brushed off his pleas that it was a 'complete innocent mistake', amid questions as to how the bullets slipped past TSA on his departing flight from Oklahoma's Will Rogers World Airport. 

Ryan Watson and his wife Valerie (pictured together arriving at their Turks and Caicos vacation) spent weeks in Turks and Caicos, with Ryan's extended stay draining their finances 

Ryan and Valerie (right) were in Turks and Caicos for a birthday celebration with their friends, which Valerie said quickly 'went from what was supposed to be a dream vacation to a nightmare' 

Officials said they have launched a 'review' of the airport's screeners in response.  

'TSA is conducting a review at OKC, which was the originating airport,' TSA said in a statement, adding that it is 'aware' of the slip-up.

However, several investigations in recent years have uncovered a shocking lapse in TSA screening effectiveness, with undercover agents from Homeland Security easily slipping banned objects past screeners.

In 2017, ABC News reported that undercover agents found safety equipment or procedures failed over half the time, with a source revealing that the 'ballpark' failure rate was more like 80 percent.

A previous investigation in 2006 also found that fake bombs slipped past TSA screeners 75 percent of the time at Los Angeles International Airport and 60 percent of the time at Chicago O'Hare, reported USA Today. 

Despite their insistence that the ammunition was accidentally left from a previous hunting trip, Turks and Caicos prosecutors maintained that the crime is a serious offense in the nation.

Valerie said through tears that when she heard the mandatory sentence, she was 'immediately terrified, because we can't be in prison for 12 years, we have kids at home.'

She spent 11 days on the island facing charges alongside her husband, but saw her charges dropped on April 22 and was allowed to return to their family in Oklahoma.

Valerie said she is still fighting to have her husband released from his criminal charges, with several prominent Oklahoma politicians including Governor Kevin Stitt and Senator Markwayne Mullin also lending their support.

Watson's wife insisted the bullets were an 'innocent mistake', after they were missed by American TSA on their departing flight from Oklahoma 

As she fights to bring her husband home, Valerie said she has only made it through the ordeal because she believes 'God's still working and he's working through us' 

In a letter to Turks and Caicos officials on April 16, Stitt explained that Ryan is an 'avid outdoorsman', and that leaving the ammunition in his bag was an oversight, not an intentional attempt to break the law.

Senator Mullin's office has also said it has been in contact with Watson's family, and is working to secure his freedom and flight back home.

'We know that God's still working and he's working through us,' Valerie added.

Despite the outpouring of support, the couple said Ryan's extended stay and legal bills are financially and emotionally draining their family, which he said they may 'never recover from.'

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the couple with the costs, which at the time of writing had exceeded $106,000.

Ryan's social medias also show his passion for the outdoors, as he is seen riding horses and embracing his family in cowboy hats.