Prosecutors in Indianapolis have added a felony battery charge in the ongoing case of Mark Sanchez, the former NFL and USC quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst who was stabbed over the weekend during an early-morning altercation in an alley with a truck driver.
Marion County (IN) Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Monday in a press conference that a charge of battery causing serious injury, a level 5 felony, has been added to three misdemeanor charges originally filed this weekend against Sanchez, who was in town to broadcast Fox’s Indianapolis Colts-Las Vegas Raiders NFL game.
With the felony count, Sanchez could face 1-6 years in prison. Mears said today the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Sanchez, 38, was involved in an altercation with the 69-year-old truck driver in the early-morning hours of Saturday, when police said the driver allegedly stabbed Sanchez while defending himself during a fight.
Sanchez was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and has since stabilized. He later was arrested at the hospital on counts of battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication, all misdemeanors. The driver was taken to a separate hospital with “significant and very severe injuries.”
Mears said the incident involved a fight in an alley that was well covered by surveillance cameras, which are being used as part of the investigation. The alley was located between a pair of hotels. Witnesses also have come forward, he said.
According to eyewitness accounts as reported by local media, footage showed Sanchez “approaching a box truck that was backed into a loading dock” after complaining to a hotel manager that the truck needed to be moved. Footage eventually showed a fight breaking out near a dumpster, with the victim telling police he pepper-sprayed Sanchez before pulling out a knife and stabbing Sanchez multiple times in self-defense.
“This was a situation that did not need to occur,” Mears said today, adding, “The probable cause outlines the initial nature of that dispute — we are literally talking about people fighting over a parking space, or a dispute over where people are parking, and it resulted in someone receiving incredibly significant injuries.”
Sanchez, who also was the “Alien Baby” vocalist on The Masked Singer in 2020, was replaced on the Fox broadcast Sunday by Brady Quinn, and Fox announcers addressed the incident yesterday on-air saying their “thoughts and prayers are with Mark, his family, and all of those involved.”
During today’s press conference, MPD Chief Chris Bailey asked for “thoughts and prayers” only for the victim and his family.
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