In the News

Zack Wilson, a Keithville man detained in Guatemala since March, soon will return home to Louisiana, his family and friends learned Monday afternoon.

Wilson called his wife, Lisa, to tell her he learned at a court hearing Monday that he'll be released from detention in a month or less.

Wilson traveled to Guatemala in March for a mission trip. Guatemalan authorities arrested him at an airport as he was leaving the country after finding ammunition in his backpack — ammunition that he said he mistakenly left in the backpack after a hunting trip with his dad in Kentucky.

Wilson was in prison for a time, then in hospitals for treatment of a serious intestinal disease. He's been under house arrest since July 2, confined with a group of American missionaries.

Guatemalan authorities charged Wilson with illicit importation. In court Monday, a judge sentenced him to two years in prison but suspended the sentence, Russ Lee, Zack's uncle, said in an interview.

Prosecutors are not expected to challenge the sentence, Lee said.

Wilson must wait for a hearing in 10 days where final charges will be read, Lee said, and is expected back in the United States in under four weeks.

"Everybody's crying," Lee said. "This time, they are tears of joy instead of sadness."

It initially appeared that Wilson may have to await a trial in February. His wife worried that his poor health — he suffers from ulcerative colitis — poor health care and expensive medicines would make waiting until next year difficult.

The ammunition found in Wilson's backpack was 16 .22-caliber and 30 .30-caliber cartridges.

Wilson worked in events and maintenance at the Word of God Ministries in Shreveport. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana spoke on his behalf, as did doctors and a "Bring Zack Home!" social media movement.

Zack and Lisa Wilson marked their 12th wedding anniversary on Oct. 1. They have two sons, ages 9 and 5.

"I'm so excited!!!," his wife Lisa texted Monday to The Times.