Florida woman arrested for importing ammunition into Turks and Caicos Islands fined $1,500 and given probation | KMMO

The fifth American arrested and charged with bringing ammunition in his bag to the Turks and Caicos Islands avoided jail time, instead being sentenced Thursday to a $1,500 fine and 23 weeks’ probation. Sharitta Grier, a grandmother from Florida, has remained on the islands since her arrest in May.

Grier, who lives in Orlando, was visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands with her daughter on a surprise Mother’s Day vacation. During a routine search at Howard Hamilton International Airport, officers found two rounds of ammunition in her carry-on luggage as she attempted to fly home, according to police. After her arrest in mid-May, she told CBS News: “They chained me to a chair by my legs. It’s cold, I’m scared, it was awful, it was so awful, I couldn’t sleep. You have good days, bad days – it’s mentally exhausting, you don’t know what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen, if a court date is going to be postponed. It’s a lot, it’s a lot mentally.”

Grier pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition. After her arrest, she was released on $15,000 bail and ordered to remain in the Caribbean territory until her case was resolved. After her sentencing, Grier told ABC News she was “very happy” to be going home, adding, “This has been a long time coming.” She said she was optimistic about her case after other Americans who were also arrested for having ammunition in their pockets avoided prison time but had to pay fines before they could return to the U.S.

Grier was the fifth American charged under the Turks and Caicos Islands’ gun laws in recent months. He faces a mandatory 12-year prison sentence unless the court finds “extraordinary circumstances.” Three other American tourists who were similarly charged and detained on the islands after accidentally carrying ammunition have since been allowed to return home, with the court citing “extraordinary circumstances” to avoid the mandatory sentence. Under pressure from U.S. lawmakers to show leniency to Americans, elected officials on the islands changed the law to give judges more discretion in rulings in gun cases. Under the amended law, the court has the “broadest possible discretion” and can impose either a fine, a prison sentence or both, the attorney general said in a statement.

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