Mom of US tourist, 26, jailed for eight months in Turks and Caicos on ammo charges lays bare horror of life inside vermin-infested prison where her son was taunted with death threats

A US tourist sentenced to eight months in a Turks and Caicos prison after ammunition was found in his luggage served his time in a squalid prison where he faced death threats from other inmates, his family has revealed.

Michael Allan Grim, 26, from Indiana, was arrested in August 2023 after a 9mm magazine containing 20 round of ammunition was found by airport officials as he prepared to return to the US following a family vacation.

He faced a months-long legal nightmare before he was 'made an example of' by the courts and jailed over the 'honest mistake'. In prison, Michael was held alongside rapists and murderers who were serving life sentences.

Michael, who had left the ammunition in his luggage by mistake, returned to the US in February after serving six months before his early release for good behavior.

His mother, Teresa Pfau, has now told DailyMail.com of the ordeal. She spoke out as several other American men currently await sentencing for the same offense after unintentionally taking ammo to Turks and Caicos.

Teresa, who supported her son throughout the legal process and visited him monthly in jail, said the experience has 'changed our lives' and she is now trying to help the other families in similar positions.

'Michael made a mistake, he was careless, he should have known he was missing [an ammo] clip or it was not where it was supposed to be. He did break the law and he took full accountability for it as soon as he knew,' she said.

The family were on their third vacation to Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory where firearms offenses carry hefty sentences, and preparing for their return flight on August 1 when Michael was detained at the airport.

Teresa recalled that just hours earlier, the family was reflecting on their vacation and told one another: 'We want to come back here, we love it.'

At the airport, a security announcement called Michael to the customs area for a random bag check. His sister had been subject to the checks during their previous visits and the family thought nothing of it.

Teresa said: 'We really had a joke about it. We said, 'okay, who is going to get called this time?'

'As we were waiting I text Michael because our flight got called and we were getting ready to board. He replied, 'I'm probably not going to make the flight' and I said, 'you're really funny'.'

As the family waited for Michael, they quickly realized that he was serious.

During the bag check, a customs official had found the magazine in his duffel bag. He was initially told to expect a fine and that he'd probably be allowed to catch a return flight the next day, but after police were called to the airport he was arrested.

'That's when we realized this was a nightmare,' said Teresa. 'I was very angry with Michael. Gosh, we always have this discussion [about checking luggage].

'The night before we left, I said remember and he's like mom, of course, I know.'

Michael was initially held at a police station while his family searched for an attorney. His mom and her husband, Michael's stepfather, remained on Turks and Caicos while the rest of his family returned to the US.

Teresa said the magnitude of the situation dawned on her after one attorney told her: 'Your son has totally f****d up. This is a serious crime in this country. It carries a 12 year minimum sentence.'

'I was just in total shock. I felt totally numb. I didn't really cry, I just felt like there was a total pit in my stomach,' she said.

Michael was charged with possession of ammunition and his family posted bail. For nearly two months, he lived in a small condo on Turks and Caicos with his mother as they awaited his sentencing.

During his initial police interviews, Michael conceded the ammunition was his but insisted he didn't realize it was in the bag.

Court filings reveal the judge who sentenced Michael, the Honourable Justice Chris Selochan, refused to accept his guilty plea unless he changed the statement to say he knowingly brought the ammunition.

The wrangle - which meant Michael essentially had to lie - was one of several during the judicial process which left his family feeling a sense of injustice.

Michael's attorney sought a fine as punishment, but he was ultimately sentenced to eight months' jail time. The maximum sentence is typically 12 years but the judge accepted there were 'exceptional circumstances' to Michael's case.

'I was not angry, I was just devastated,' said Teresa, who was present at all of her son's court hearings.

Michael works for a member of Congress in the US and handles firearms as part of his work. His mother believes his treatment by the courts, and his sentence, may have been influenced by his career. 

'At that point, we felt Michael is being made an example of because of his job and what he did,' she added.

Michael served his sentence in HM Prison on Grand Turk, a squalid jail which lacks running water. There are bars instead of windows and the prison is rife with tropical diseases and vermin including cockroaches.

He spent the first week in solitary confinement – a 'covid measure' which meant he was isolated for 23 hours a day in a tiny cell which was around 9ft long and 5ft wide.

After he was moved into the general population, where inmates' crimes range from theft to murder, Michael was subject to an extortion attempt by another prisoner who said Michael would be killed unless he paid $20,000.

His family and attorney reported the incident and Michael was transferred again to the 'trustee wing' for well-behaved prisoners.

Teresa returned to the US after Michael was jailed but visited her son once per month during his sentence.

'He looked very tired,' she said of the first visit. 'He was very scattered. I would say he was pretty fearful.'

She said her son was often 'covered in mosquito bites' and the jail was 'excruciatingly hot'. 'I was very concerned he's not going to do well with this if there was violence,' said Teresa.

Michael did not reveal every detail of the ordeal to his mother during her visits and it was only after he returned home that she learned the true extent of the hellish conditions.

He lived in a cell with a person who shot two people in a nightclub and neighboring cells included murderers and rapists.

Michael was eventually released in February and flew back to the US with his mother.

'Not until we were in the air flying home did I feel like I could just breathe,' Teresa added.

'It was definitely an experience that really has changed our lives.

'He does not have a [criminal] record, he does not have a speeding ticket, he does not have anything.

'I'm still in counseling with trauma and stress associated with it. My whole body is so tense. My body is still in fight or flight mode.'

Teresa and her son now 'hug a little bit harder' and say 'I love you' more than they used to, she added.

'The hardest part is not knowing, not being able to help,' she said. 'The communication was the hardest piece. Every step was did not have the outcome we hoped for.'