2 arrested, suspected of hindering arrest of wanted suspect charged in ICE detention center ‘ambush’

ALVARADO, Texas — Two people have been arrested and face charges in connection with allegedly hindering the arrest of a suspect who remains at large after the shooting of an Alvarado police officer during an “ambush” July 4 at the Prairieland Detention Center, officials say.

The last remaining suspect at large after the attack, Benjamin Hanil Song, 32, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, prompted a Blue Alert last week and has been on the run since the attack against police officers at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Alvarado, about 30 miles south of Fort Worth, officials say. Song faces charges of attempted murder of a federal officer and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, according to the FBI. 

John Phillip Thomas and Lynette Read Sharp were arrested last week in connection with the attack, officials say.

Federal officials interviewed Thomas on July 8, who initially denied knowing Song, but later admitted to living with him at a residence in Dallas from September 2024 to late June 2025, according to a criminal complaint.

Thomas told officials that the day after the shooting, he left to meet three people at a hotel in Cleburne, where he admitted they met to discuss the shooting and getting Song out of the area of the detention center, according to the complaint. Thomas allegedly picked Song up and took him to a home in Dallas, according to the complaint, and also brought him clothing.

Thomas and Sharp were members of a Signal group chat, and one of the chats had evidence the group had performed “reconnaissance” at Prairieland Detention Center and planned the attack, according to the complaint. Sharp allegedly used Signal to help arrange transferring Song from Thomas to another person around July 7, per the complaint. Sharp had said she couldn’t be at Prairieland because of “family problems,” but offered to monitor the chat and send money in support of the operation, according to the affidavit. 

Now, up to 14 people face charges in connection with the attack, in which, according to an affidavit, a group of 10-12 people wearing all black on July 4 shot fireworks toward the detention center. One or two suspects involved broke off and graffitied cars and other property, including writing “ICE pig” on a Toyota Prius, according to the document. 

During the attack that night, an Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck and was then flown to an area hospital, treated, and released, officials said. No employees at the detention center were harmed, officials added.

Eleven of the suspects charged fled the scene but were later arrested by responding officers. 

Zachary Evetts, of Waxahachie; Joy Gibson, of Dallas; Bradford Morris, of Dallas; Maricela Rueda, of Fort Worth; Seth Sikes, of Kennedale; Elizabeth Soot, of Fort Worth; and Ines Soto, of Fort Worth, all face criminal charges, including attempted murder of a federal officer, discharging a firearm during a violent crime, terrorism and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer, as WFAA previously reported. 

The 11th suspect, Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada, is accused of knowingly and willfully altering, destroying or concealing a record, document or other object with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding, according to the criminal complaint against Sanchez Estrada. He is also accused of conspiring with the other defendants to launch a “coordinated attack” against law enforcement in Alvarado.