Mark Sanchez, a Fox Sports analyst and former NFL quarterback, has now been charged with a felony following a stabbing incident in Indianapolis over the weekend that left him injured.
During a press conference on Monday with Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey, Mears announced that Sanchez was facing a level 5 felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury charge. The new charge carries a potential sentence of up to six years in prison.
Sanchez was initially facing misdemeanor charges — for alleged battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — but once they learned more about the victim’s current medical condition, Mears said “it became clear to us that additional charges needed to be filed.”
The Associated Press reported that a police affidavit alleges Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, aggressively approached a 69-year-old truck driver who had backed into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis. This allegedly led to a confrontation between them outside the vehicle at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, prompting the truck driver to pull out a knife to defend himself.
“We are literally talking about people fighting over a parking space and/or a dispute about where people are parking, and it resulted in someone receiving just incredibly significant injures,” Mears said on Monday.
The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that both men received medical treatment, with Fox Sports PR sharing later on Saturday that Sanchez was “recovering in the hospital in stable condition.” He remained hospitalized as of Monday morning.
The Associated Press reported that the former New York Jets quarterback was pepper-sprayed and stabbed multiple times during the incident and the truck driver was cut on his cheek, according to court records.
“This was a situation that did not need to occur,” the prosecutor added. “The allegations involve a 38-year-old man becoming involved in an altercation with a 69-year-old man who sustained significant and very severe injuries as a result of that altercation.”
Authorities did not share whether the truck driver might also face charges.
THR has reached out to Fox Sports and Sanchez’s reps for comment.
The broadcaster was in Indianapolis for Sunday’s game between the Colts and Las Vegas Raiders.
THR recently spoke with Sanchez’s wife, Perry Mattfeld, who stars opposite Glen Powell in the sports-comedy series Chad Powers. At the time, she said the former NFL player shared some of his professional insight with writers on the show. “Mark was definitely able to consult with me quite a bit on some of my lines,” Mattfeld said. “I have to give him some credit; some of his lines made it in terms of my improv or things that he had given me. (Laughs.) But he did spend some time in the writers room giving some insight not only about his NFL career, but college as well.”
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