Three Taco Bell employees held a manager's office door shut while a man pounded on it and threatened to kill them, according to court documents detailing a chaotic scene at an Indianapolis restaurant on the night of Nov. 3. Police say the man, identified as Landon Jones, had already chased workers through the kitchen with a knife before the standoff at the office door began.
Officers Called to Weapons Disturbance
Indianapolis police were dispatched to a Taco Bell location on the city's northeast side that evening in reference to a disturbance involving a weapon, according to court documents reported by fox59.com. A witness told investigators that Jones was seen chasing employees around the kitchen with a knife in his hand, and that he had jumped the counter before the chase began, according to the same documents cited by WKRC.
After employees ran from him, Jones was reportedly removed from the restaurant at one point, but the confrontation did not end there. According to the reporting, he then got into a fight with another person in the parking lot, and when that person fled back inside the restaurant to escape, Jones followed.
Standoff at the Manager's Office
Three Taco Bell employees barricaded themselves inside the manager's office as Jones pursued the situation further, per the court documents. Police arriving on scene reportedly found Jones banging on the manager's door while the three workers held it shut from the inside.
Documents obtained by fox59.com indicate that an employee said Jones had been banging his hand on the counter demanding food and a phone charger during part of the encounter. The same documents describe Jones banging on the glass of the manager's office and saying, “I'm going to kill you,” to the people barricaded inside.
Arrest and Felony Charges Filed
When officers moved to take Jones into custody, he reportedly said, “they put their hands on me,” according to the court records. Officers handcuffed him, and the documents state he continued to act erratically and spit on an officer while in custody.
Jones was charged with three counts of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, each a Level 3 felony, along with three counts of intimidation, each a Level 5 felony, the court documents show. He also faces one count of battery by bodily waste upon a public safety officer, a Level 6 felony, one count of criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, also a Level 6 felony, and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct. Under Indiana law, criminal recklessness covers recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally performing an act that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person, according to the Indiana General Assembly's criminal code.
Court Dates Set, Bond at $100,000
The Marion County Court set a cash bond of $100,000 for Jones last Friday, per the court filings. His pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2027, with a jury trial set to follow on Feb. 4, 2027.
The case echoes other recent Taco Bell parking-lot violence nationally; a Chicago man was sentenced to five years for beating a man in a Taco Bell parking lot in 2023, according to nwitimes.com. The available evidence in the Indianapolis case does not establish how the proceedings against Jones will ultimately resolve.
