Oklahoma grandmother freed in time for Christmas after gun possession arrest in the Bahamas

For Mary Robinson, 69, this holiday season comes with the gift of home and family. The Oklahoma grandmother, jailed on December 2, in the Bahamas for gun possession and inability to pay her $8,000 fine, is now free and on her way home in time for Christmas.

Robinson had been visiting the Bahamas on a Royal Caribbean cruise with her 12-year-old grandson when authorities discovered a loaded firearm in her purse. While she had legally owned the gun in the United States, she could not pay the fine and was sentenced to 24 months in the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

Her granddaughter, Graci Exendine, quickly mobilised and, in an urgent GoFundMe campaign, raised over $12,000 to secure her release, appealing to strangers and supporters to bring Robinson home.

The relief came this week. “Mary is at the airport waiting for her flight! She should be home tonight,” Graci posted on social media. “I want to again thank everyone who has helped get our Mary back home.”

Robinson’s lawyer, Bjorn Ferguson, explained that the grandmother “has a touch of dementia” and normally leaves the firearm in her vehicle. Somehow, it was forgotten in her purse before boarding the ship, the “honest mistake” that set off a chain of events that could have kept her away from family for months.

After her release, Graci updated supporters again: “I just talked to Mary. She is out. She’s staying at a hotel tonight, and then we’ll figure out her passport and flight tomorrow! Thank you everyone who has been keeping up with Mary and making sure she gets home to her people.”