Mark Sanchez was arrested after he was stabbed by another man in Indianapolis on Saturday, and the former NFL quarterback is officially facing three charges.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Sunday morning that Sanchez has formally been charged with three misdemeanors — battery with injury, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a vehicle. The NFL on FOX analyst had bond set at $300 and has an initial hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning.
“This incident should never have happened,” Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement, via ESPN.com. “What began as a disagreement between a 38-year-old former professional athlete and a 69-year-old man should not have escalated into violence or left anyone seriously injured. As with any case, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.”
An affidavit for probable cause states that Sanchez is accused of accosting a truck driver at a hotel loading dock. The truck driver said Sanchez continued to go after him to the point where the driver believed he was in danger. The man says he sprayed Sanchez in the face with pepper spray but that Sanchez continued to advance toward him.
The driver of the truck said he was thrown against a dumpster by Sanchez and believed he was in a “life-or-death situation,” so the man pulled a knife and struck Sanchez “two or three times.”
Sanchez suffered several stab wounds to his right abdomen, according to the affidavit. The driver had a laceration to his face, and the men were taken to two separate hospitals and treated.
Reports have suggested that Sanchez confronted the driver about where the man had parked before the situation escalated. Detectives from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reviewed video footage of the incident before arresting Sanchez at the hospital.
Sanchez was a standout quarterback for USC before being drafted No. 5 overall by the New York Jets in 2009. Though he quarterbacked the Jets to the AFC Championship in each of his first two NFL seasons, he was ultimately unsuccessful with the organization, and was out of the NFL after the 2018 season.
Since retiring from the NFL, Sanchez has worked as a broadcaster, first for ESPN and later for FOX. He was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s game between the Colts and Las Vegas Raiders, but he has been replaced by fellow former quarterback Brady Quinn for Week 5.
