Background: The Candlewood Suites hotel in Indianapolis, Ind., where Robert Vanatta's family fled on March 22, 2025 (Google Maps). Robert Vanatta (Johnson County Sheriff's Office).
An Indiana man who forced his family into his truck at gunpoint and threatened to kill them all will spend the next two decades in prison.
Robert Vanatta, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in prison plus two years' probation in connection with a domestic violence incident that took place last year. Online court records stated that Vanatta was convicted of 14 felony charges â three counts of criminal confinement, four counts of intimidation, three counts of criminal recklessness, and one count each of strangulation, domestic battery in the presence of a child under 16, and neglect of a dependent.
In a statement obtained by local reporter Johnette Cruz, Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Lance Hamner said the case began on March 22, 2025, when Vanatta's wife, their 5-year-old daughter, and her two teenage sons fled their home in Marion County to escape Vanatta. But Vanatta tracked them down to a Candlewood Suites hotel in Greenwood, Indiana.
According to court documents obtained by local NBC affiliate WTHR, Vanatta's wife arrived at the hotel with the three children on the night of March 22, 2025, and told the clerk what was happening, asking the clerk not to tell Vanatta that they were all there. Vanatta arrived about 20 minutes after the family did, and the clerk refused to tell him if they were there.
Vanatta eventually left, and his wife felt it was safe for her and the children to leave as well. The 17-year-old son drove the family away from the hotel, and they all spotted Vanatta's truck coming back toward the hotel. Vanatta saw them and slammed into their vehicle, running it off the road. He got out of his truck and walked over to his teenage stepson, who was behind the wheel, and attacked him. The boy told police that Vanatta forced the family out of the vehicle at gunpoint and ordered them to get into his truck.
The wife and three children complied. Once inside the truck, Vanatta punched his wife in the face, knocking off her glasses and causing her head to bounce off the window. Vanatta told his wife and children, "I've got something for you when we get home." One of the boys started recording him, capturing several threats on their lives, including, "I'm going to shoot every one of you."
Believing that Vanatta was planning to kill them, the older teen started stabbing his stepfather with a box cutter. At some point, the wife got her hands on Vanatta's gun and fired three or four warning shots to stop the fighting. Vanatta pulled over and let them out of the truck. After he drove away, the family ran back to the hotel to call the police.
After police caught up to Vanatta, he told them he "blacked out" during an argument with his stepson.
Vanatta was found guilty of all 14 charges against him following a trial that concluded on March 27. During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Roesener commended the teenage boys for their bravery, saying their actions likely saved their whole family's lives.
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