The former quarter-back of the NFL, Mark Sanchez, is now faced with a battery charge for crime for what the authorities declared that Monday was a fight against a parking dispute, in addition to the charges of offense that Sports Fox analyst was already confronted with the weekend incident in Indianapolis.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the new battery accusation involving serious bodily injuries, which bear a potential sentence of one to six years in prison, during a press conference with the head of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department, Chris Bailey. Mears said the investigation was underway and that additional costs are possible.
“We are literally talking about people who fight for a parking lot and / or a dispute in the place where people park, and that made someone received incredibly important injuries,” the prosecutor told journalists.
A police affidavit alleys that Sanchez, 38 years old, feeling alcohol, accosted a 69-year-old truck driver who fell back into the loading quays of a hotel in downtown Indianapolis, leading to a confrontation early Saturday outside the vehicle which prompted the driver to remove a knife to defend himself.
The former quarter-back of the New York Jets was pulverized with pepper and stabbed several times during the altercation, according to the judicial archives deposited on Sunday.
He became clear after the investigators learned more about the victim’s medical state that the accusation of more serious crime was justified, Mears said.
“It was a situation that didn’t need to happen,” said the prosecutor. “The allegations imply that a 38 -year -old man is involved in an altercation with a 69 -year -old man who suffered significant and very serious injuries because of this altercation.”
Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds in his upper right torso, said the initial affidavit signed by a police detective. The truck driver, identified as PT, had a break on the left cheek, he said.
The authorities did not say if the truck driver could also face charges, but Mears noted that Indiana “had some of the country’s most robust self -defense laws”.
Sanchez was scheduled for an audience on the original offense accusations on Tuesday, but it was reprogrammed until November 4. Sanchez remained hospitalized and was listed in a stable state on Monday morning.
One of the lawyers in Sanchez, James Voyles, refused to comment on the case.
The prosecutor said the police were still collecting information and had several pending searches. He also said that the surveillance video had captured the incident from several angles.
“I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you do in life. I don’t care about where you live,” said the police chief. “If you come to our city, commit violence, we will use all the tools available to us to keep you responsible.”
Sanchez was in Indianapolis as part of the broadcasting team for the coverage by the Sunday match network between the Las Vegas raiders and the Indianapolis colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The advertiser Play-by-Play Sports, Chris Myers, recognized the absence of Sanchez on Sunday before presenting the replacement of Sanchez, Brady Quinn. Myers said he wanted to send thoughts and prayers to Sanchez and to all those involved in the incident.
Sanchez played eight seasons in the NFL after being selected fifth by the jets in the 2009 USC draft. He helped jets progress for consecutive AFC championship matches during his first two seasons.
He also played for the Eagles of Philadelphia, the Cowboys of Dallas and Washington, the team he appeared for the last time in a regular season match in 2018.
He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
