‘Deadliest Catch’ Bank Robber — From Catching Crabs Pots to Being Caught

Famed author Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.” In the case of Joshua Tel Warner, he straddled the worlds of television and thievery.

It hasn’t escaped our notice that a man whose job in life was catching crabs pots, couldn’t avoid being caught himself. There have been a lot of law-breaking crewmen aboard the Deadliest Catch boats, but a bank robber was certainly a first. Unfortunately, it was Joshua’s brief stint on the show that finally did him in. Here’s what we know about Joshua, the Deadliest Catch bank robber.

In May 2010, Oregon Live reported that Joshua held up one bank in 2007 and two in 2009 in Eugene, Ore. Joshua made his way to Discovery’s Deadliest Catch where he was a greenhorn member on the Wizard between the first and second robberies. About his time on television, then-Deputy District Attorney Chris Parosa said, “I don’t think it was a particularly brilliant move on his part.”

While searching surveillance footage from the robberies, detectives were able to match up Joshua with the Discovery Channel promos for Deadliest Catch. It would appear that Joshua was doing their work for them, by making sure the entire country had access to his face. Despite initially avoiding authorities, in December 2009 Joshua was arrested during a traffic stop in East Peoria, Ill. He was then extradited back to Oregon.

After standing trial in Oregon in 2010, Joshua was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison. However, he wasn’t alone. Warner’s accomplice, Garrett Wade Rice, pleaded guilty in April 2010 and was given a 34-month sentence. Joshua’s punishment doesn’t stop at being behind bars. He was also “ordered to repay $2,794 and $8,304 for the 2009 robberies,” per Oregon Live.

A quick search on the Department of Corrections Oregon Offender website doesn’t yield any results for Joshua. If he served his full sentence, in all likelihood he would have been released in late 2019 or early 2020 when he was 32 years old. If Joshua is active on social media, it would appear he’s using a different name. While his time on Deadliest Catch was certainly cut short, it’s hard not to make an impression when being on television was essentially a side gig between bank robberies.