Linda Harris SENTENCED — Tyler Vannest, right, listens as Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin reads statements from his two victims into the record Wednesday. Vannest was sentenced to 4.5 years for prison after terrorizing his ex-wife and another individual to the point they jumped out a window. He was represented by Attorney Steven Stickles.

STEUBENVILLE — A Mingo Junction man admitted Wednesday to threatening to kill his ex-wife and another family member who jumped from a second-floor window to escape him in a 2024 incident.

Tyler Scott Vannest, 35, was sentenced by Joseph Bruzzese to the maximum penalty of 4.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts of abduction, two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence and having a weapon while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said the victims would have had to testify had the case gone to trial.

“The trauma (they) endured was horrific,” she told Bruzzese.

The two victims told authorities Vannest threatened to “kill everyone” in the house after assaulting them in May 2024. They barricaded themselves in a bathroom and begged him not to hurt them, but said he told them it was “too late” before going to retrieve a gun.

Realizing they would not be able to hold him off because the door had been “knocked in before” and would not lock properly, the two jumped to safety, leaving a toddler asleep in another room.

In victim impact statements read into the record by Hanlin, both victims told Bruzzese they feared for their safety when they jumped from the second-floor window to escape.

The younger victim described fleeing the residence and hiding nearby after seeing Vannest come outside carrying a rifle. She said the incident has continued to affect her emotionally long after it ended.

The family member told the court the ordeal left lasting emotional trauma and ongoing anxiety, adding that it changed her sense of security and the way she approaches daily life.

Hanlin said the situation could have been far worse.

“The quick actions of Lt. Rob Alexander, Lt. Kohl Liddick, Deputy Meya Cook and Deputy Corey Virtue likely prevented this horrific situation from developing into a murder-suicide,” she said. “This defendant had become completely unhinged. Both victims jumped from a second-floor window seconds before the armed defendant was able to break down the door of the bathroom where they were barricaded. An 11-month-old baby sleeping in the home was safely recovered by officers. The victims wanted this chapter closed and to know they would be safe from this man.”

Vannest had no prior offenses, she said. As part of the agreement, all firearms seized from his residence will be surrendered to the sheriff’s department, and after serving his prison sentence he will be under a lifetime weapons disability.

Hanlin said avoiding a trial was important to prevent further trauma.

“We did not want to further traumatize them by forcing them through a trial, which would have required them to relive this night of terror,” she said.

Vannest, who will receive credit for 18 days already served in the county jail, is scheduled to turn himself in Monday to begin serving his sentence. His attorney, Steven Stickles, declined comment.