Indiana prosecutors add a criminal battery charge against Mark Sanchez for an alleged attack

Marion county prosecutors, in Ind., Added a level 5 battery charge on Monday against the former quarter-back of NFL Mark Sanchez for his alleged attack on a 69-year-old truck driver in Indianapolis on Saturday. Sanchez pleaded not guilty to all accusations.

The additional battery charge, which is the second lowest level of crime under the Indiana Criminal Code, carries a directive of determining the sentence of one to six years in prison and can also lead to a fine of up to $ 10,000.

Sanchez, NFL analyst for Fox Sports, initially faced battery charges causing injuries, public poisoning and illegal entry of an engine vehicle, all crimes. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said at the press conference on Monday that the accusation of additional crime was due to the alleged assault “involving serious bodily injuries”.

Mears also said that the driver’s driver’s age could be considered an aggravating factor, which could lead to additional sanctions.

“(The head of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department, Chris Bailey) and his team have a number of search mandates that are still exceptional. They still follow additional information,” said Mears. “This is by no means the end of this investigation.

Police arrested Sanchez on Saturday when he was at the hospital for injuries suffered during the incident. Sanchez was stabbed several times in his upper right torso, the police said, while the other man had a great laceration on the left cheek which required hospitalization.

“This was a deeply painful period for all those involved,” said Sanchez’s brother Nick in a statement provided by crisis director Andrew Bourke, who works with the family. “Mark and our family are incredibly grateful to the concern, love and support that we have received in the past few days. Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he has suffered and focuses on his recovery while the legal process continues. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the first speakers and medical staff. ”

The 38 -year -old Sanchez lawyers refused to comment. He was released Sunday from prison with a deposit of $ 300, and his first audience date is set for November 4.

“I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you do in life. … If you come in our city, commit violence, we will use all the tools available to us to keep you responsible,” said Bailey at the press conference.

The truck driver, identified as Perry Tole, filed a civil lawsuit on Monday afternoon against Sanchez and Fox. Tole and his lawyer, Erik J. May of Golitko & Daly PC, accuse Sanchez of a single chief of assault / battery and hiring by negligence, retention and supervision.

May could not be joined immediately to comment.

Sanchez would have confronted Tole to park his truck in an alley between two hotels, saying that he was not allowed to be there. Prosecutors said in -depth video sequences show that Sanchez was trying to enter the vehicle several times as the situation improved.

At one point, Sanchez would have criticized tole on the ground. The truck driver told the police that he had used peppery gas on Sanchez, who, according to him, had felt alcohol and had speeches of lists, before using a knife to defend himself. Sanchez then fled the scene, said Tole.

“When conflicts, which I have said on several occasions, continue to lead violence in our community – simple conflicts on things like parking spaces and the list continues again and on what we have seen in recent years – (there are) these tragic cases which become violent because someone has a weapon of all kinds,” said Bailey. “We are lucky that no one died right now following this incident which involved a knife.”

Mears noted that the declaration of tole saying that he had stabbed Sanchez in self -defense will be at the heart of the trial.

“Indiana has some of the country’s most robust self-defense laws, and this will always be part of the equation when you assess cases like this and try to determine exactly what happened,” said Mears. “… In Indiana, you don’t have the duty to retreat.

Detective Joshua Stayton said in the affidavit of the fact that the description of the driver of the incident “corresponded closely” to the in -depth security images he examined. Affidavit also noted that Sanchez told the police that he did not remember what had happened.

Bailey did not respond directly when asked if the police had heard the Sanchez history team.

“I think that medical records will be extremely important for the two people to help the prosecutor make an indictment,” he said, “to see if there is another way (for) another accusation that must be added, but also to see if there was a kind of modified state of mind of the people involved in this incident.”

Mears did not confirm if the police had taken the alcohol level of Sanchez after the incident.

The New York Jets selected Sanchez, who played the USC, with choice n ° 5 of the 2009 NFL draft. He spent four seasons with the jets, then briefly played as a backup for the Eagles of Philadelphia, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears before retiring with Washington.

Sanchez joined Fox Sports as a match analyst in July 2021 and was in the city to cover the match on Sunday between the Indianapolis colts and the Raiders of Las Vegas.