The 69-year-old man who was allegedly attacked by former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez revealed the harrowing details of their violent confrontation in downtown Indianapolis.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the delivery driver told police he believed “this guy is trying to kill me” when Sanchez, 38, allegedly assaulted him during a dispute in an alley between the Westin Hotel and the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 4.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers were called to Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery minutes later. When they arrived, they found Sanchez suffering from multiple stab wounds to his upper torso.
Nearby, officers found the 69-year-old worker bleeding from cuts to his face. Investigators said the man was collecting used cooking oil between the two hotels when Sanchez approached him, appearing intoxicated and smelling of alcohol.
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According to the probable-cause affidavit, Sanchez told the man he had spoken to hotel management and said his truck was not supposed to be there. When the worker tried to call his supervisor, he said Sanchez blocked him and refused to leave.
Security footage reviewed by detectives shows Sanchez jogging into the alley, speaking to the man, then climbing into the driver’s side of the box truck. The two men can be seen circling the vehicle before the encounter became physical near a large dumpster.
The victim told police he used pepper spray to defend himself, but when Sanchez “kept coming at him,” he pulled out a knife and stabbed him multiple times in self-defense. Investigators wrote that video gathered from a nearby hotel “closely matches” the victim’s account of events.
A witness sitting in a nearby car told detectives he saw two men “recording each other” on their phones before the fight began and later saw one man fall to the curb as the other ran north through the alley.
Police collected a knife from the driver’s seat of the truck and obtained search warrants for Sanchez’s clothing and cellphone.
By the morning of Sunday, October 5, Marion County prosecutors formally charged Sanchez with three misdemeanors: battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle. He was processed at the hospital and later taken to jail, where he was released on a $300 cash bond. His initial court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, at 8:30 a.m.
One of Sanchez’s charges was upgraded to a level 5 felony charge on Monday, October 6, which carries a penalty of one to five years in prison.
Us Weekly has reached out to Sanchez’s attorneys for comment.
The victim’s family later provided FOX59 with graphic photos of the man’s injuries, showing a deep laceration across his cheek that went through to his tongue. The family, who asked to remain anonymous due to national attention, said he “recovering but traumatized.”
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When Sanchez was interviewed by detectives in the hospital, he reportedly said he remembered “grabbing for a window” but did not recall who attacked him or where the incident took place.
“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,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “As with any case, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.”
Sanchez, who starred at USC and was drafted fifth overall by the New York Jets in 2009, also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins before retiring from the NFL in 2019.
Now a FOX Sports analyst, Sanchez was scheduled to broadcast the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders game on Sunday. Brady Quinn filled in for Sanchez following the incident.
