Driver deliberately slams into juvenile detention center in Johnson County

FRANKLIN, Ind. — In what officials are calling an “appalling and deliberate act of violence,” a man drove a truck into the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center in Franklin on Sunday.

Jacob Dhondt, 39, rammed a truck with the phrase “Fathers Matter” painted on its tailgate into the building’s front vestibule around 11:40 a.m. Both employees and detainees were on site at the time of the crash. None of them were injured during the incident.

Photos courtesy of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

“This wasn’t just vandalism,” Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said via release. “This was a targeted, intentional act that put the lives of innocent people — people simply doing their jobs — directly in harm’s way. “It’s very fortunate no one was killed or injured.”

Dhondt was detained at the scene. He told officers that he was angry because he hadn’t been able to visit his son — who is detained at the facility — in more than a year. Dhondt said he wanted to “send a message to the judges and judicial system.”

Dhondt, who is currently being held without bond, faces multiple preliminary charges for his alleged role in the crash:

• Intimidation — Level 5 Felony
• Criminal recklessness — Level 6 Felony
• Criminal mischief — Level 6 Felony

Per a release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Dhondt had an active warrant out for his arrest before Sunday’s crash. Dhondt was wanted in Shelby County for dealing methamphetamine, a Level 2 Felony.

“We will not tolerate attacks against our staff or our justice system,” Burgess wrote in a prepared statement. “This was an act of intimidation, plain and simple, and we will pursue justice with the full weight of the law.”