MARK SANCHEZ NOW FACING A FELONY CHARGE STEMMING FROM INDIANAPOLIS ALTERCATION:
It should be noted that Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears is the same prosecutor who recently downgraded an attempted murder charge against Courtney Boose, a man with 99 prior arrests, to “aggravated battery.”
Make no mistake: if Sanchez is guilty, he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The injuries he allegedly inflicted on the 69-year-old victim are horrific. Yet it will be interesting to see how this prosecution unfolds, given the other prosecutorial choices Mears has recently made.
Sanchez was released from the hospital yesterday and immediately taken to jail, where he posted his $300 cash bond.
To their credit, Fox Sports Radio gives a thorough writeup of what’s known about the incident so far:
“GRAPHIC photos of the man attacked by former NFL QB and sportscaster Mark Sanchez. My colleague @maxlewis talked with his wife. The victim is 69 and was working at the time he was attacked. His family says he was cut in the fight and it went through his cheek and hit his tongue,” Ganote wrote on her X account, along with two photos showing the grisly injuries but blocking out the man’s eyes.
Sanchez was reportedly “acting erratically” and attack an elderly grease truck driver before he was stabbed in Indianapolis early Saturday (October 4) morning.
“This guy is trying to kill me,” the 69-year-old driver told police while recounting the incident, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post.
Sanchez was initially charged with battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle in relation to the incident, which resulted in the driver stabbing him. The FOX Sports broadcaster, who was supposed to call the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, allegedly got into an argument with the truck driver just before midnight on Saturday when he complained that the truck was blocking a nearby alley, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to FOX 59.
Sanchez was reportedly doing “wind sprints” in the alley behind the Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery where he was drinking and “acting erratically” prior to the argument. Video captured from the nearby Indianapolis showed the former NFL quarterback approach and open the driver’s door of the truck, talk to the driver and walk over to the hotel’s security office, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Indianapolis Star.
The two men then had another interaction before Sanchez began following the driver, who was seen backing away in the footage described by the charing documents.
“Sanchez is seen running after [the man] and the video shows Mr Sanchez grabbing and throwing [the man] towards the wall of the Westin,” the affidavit states.
The fight continued into the alley, at which point Sanchez allegedly threw the 69-year-old.
“Mr Sanchez is then seen throwing [the man] to the ground on the west side of the alley,” the affidavit states.
The grease truck driver told police that he used mace to protect himself from Sanchez but the attack continued before he stabbed the former quarterback two or three times, at which point Sanchez allegedly stared at him “with a look of shock” before turning around and walking up the alley, the affidavit states. Police found a trail of blood in the alleyway and Sanchez was rushed to the hospital in critical condition before later being upgraded to stable.
Sanchez was arrested, however, hasn’t been booked into Marion County Jail. The driver was reported to have suffered a laceration to his left cheek.
Based on the photos of the driver, which are indeed extremely graphic, that laceration is far more than just “reported.”