Man sentenced in Johnson County for attacking his wife and children

Criminal confinement with a deadly weapon is the top charge that led to sentencing of an Indianapolis man in Johnson County.

On Thursday, Robert Vanatta IV, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in prison with an additional two years on probation by Circuit Court Judge Roesener.  A jury convicted Vanatta of multiple felony charges in March with the highest felony being Criminal Confinement with a Deadly Weapon, a Level 3 Felony.

According to Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner, the investigation began March 22, 2025, when Vanatta’s wife fled their Marion County home along with their 5-year-old daughter and her two teenage sons to escape the ongoing domestic violence she had been experiencing. In an effort to hide somewhere safe, she rented a room at Candlewood Suites in Greenwood, near the County Line Road exit from Interstate 65.  Vanatta arrived a short time later trying to get information from the clerk about his family’s location. After he left the hotel, the family decided to relocate. 

After exiting the hotel in their vehicle, the family was chased down, rammed, and forced off the road by Vanatta.  Vanatta then ordered his wife and children into his truck at gun point while threatening to shoot them.  As Vanatta began to drive with everyone in his truck, the 17-year-old stepson drew a box cutter and began to stab Vanatta.  He kept stabbing Vanatta until his mother found her gun and fired warning shots to get them to stop fighting.  The family then got out of the truck, ran to the hotel, where the police were called and Vanatta drove off.

The judge addressed the two teenage boys present in the courtroom for sentencing and said he has no doubt that had it not been for the bravery of these two boys, they along with their mother would be dead. Vanatta demonstrated an appalling lack of remorse for the violence he inflicted on the victims in this case. Before announcing that he was sentencing Vanatta to the maximum of 20 years in prison followed by two years on probation, Judge Roesener commented that the community is and will be much safer if he is not in it. 

Prosecutor Lance Hamner said, “We are very pleased that Judge Roesener gave this dangerous criminal the maximum sentence under the law. Criminals like Vanatta are the reason maximum sentences are enacted. This is how we protect our community.”