A former employer described Joshua Yarn, a 29-year-old who transported marijuana from Washington to Texas, as a lazy individual. On Wednesday, Yarn was involved in an incident at a Dallas ICE facility that left one immigrant dead and two others injured.
Yarn briefly worked at a legal cannabis farm in Benton in 2017, but his time there ended after he fired shots from a rooftop at an immigrant bus under federal escort.
“He was all about cannabis,” said Ryan Sanderson, 49, who managed Yarn during the three-week harvest at Golden Leaf Farm. “He lived in his car while he was there.” Sanderson described Yarn as just a young kid who quietly returned to Texas when his work was done.
During the harvest, Yarn, part of a crew of 15, mostly kept to himself and enjoyed listening to music. Sanderson noted, “He didn’t really talk much about politics or anything else. It wasn’t something we discussed.” He reflected that Yarn wasn’t a standout worker, admitting, “He probably wasn’t putting in much effort because he seemed to avoid hard work.” Sanderson speculated that Yarn’s main goal was selling marijuana and suggested he might have faced challenges back in Texas where cannabis was still illegal.
After the harvest, Yarn reportedly found employment at a solar power plant, which Sanderson described as tough work. However, there was suspicion that Yarn’s reason for going to Washington wasn’t just to work temporarily but also to get involved in the cannabis trade.
In 2015, Yarn was convicted of marijuana possession prior to his employment at the farm. The attack on the Dallas facility is being investigated as a targeted incident. A note was found at the scene that contained threats towards ICE agents, and “anti-ICE” slogans were scrawled nearby. Investigators noted that Yarn drove a battered car adorned with a peculiar nuclear fallout map.
Registered as an independent voter, Yarn had participated in the 2020 Democratic primary and cast his last vote in 2024. His family mentioned that he had some experience with firearms.
The motives behind Yarn’s actions are still unclear, but his mother had expressed anti-gun sentiments on social media, criticizing Texas lawmakers who supported the Second Amendment. A family member stated that Yarn was not an extreme leftist and didn’t harbor hatred toward immigration agents.
Sanderson mentioned that Yarn appeared different in 2017, leaving him puzzled after hearing about the shooting, saying, “You never really know people.” He believed it was evident that something had changed about Yarn since they last met, noting a noticeable weight gain and suggesting it might have reflected worsening personal issues. He viewed Yarn as an average young adult who simply enjoyed marijuana.
