Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports color commentator Mark Sanchez, who was arrested for multiple misdemeanors following a physical altercation this weekend, is now facing a felony charge of battery involving serious bodily injury, prosecutors in Indianapolis announced. The more serious charge was added after investigators learned of the severity of the victim’s injuries, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said at a news conference on Monday.
“The allegations involve a 38-year-old man becoming involved in an altercation with a 69-year-old man who sustained significant and very serious injuries” over a dispute about parking, Mears said. Other charges are possible, Mears said, noting they are still in “the early stages of this investigation.”
Mark Sanchez was in Indianapolis to call the Raiders – Colts game when, early Saturday morning, Sanchez allegedly approached a 69-year-old truck driver in a hotel loading dock and “escalated a dispute about the victim’s parked vehicle,” according to police and prosecutors. Sanchez allegedly climbed into the truck and kept the driver from calling for help before a fight broke out, according to court records.
“After the altercation turned physical, it is alleged that pepper spray was dispensed, and Sanchez suffered injuries consistent with being stabbed,” prosecutors said in a statement this weekend. Multiple angles of surveillance footage captured the incident, and witnesses have come forward, Mears said.
Sanchez was arrested at the hospital and initially charged with three misdemeanors: battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle, and public intoxication, police said. Sanchez has waived an initial court hearing set for tuesday for the misdemeanor charges. A pretrial conference hearing has been set for Nov. 4 for the updated case.
The sentence for the felony charge could be one to six years, Mears said.
Sources:https://abcnews.go.com/US/mark-sanchez-felony-battery-indianapolis/story?id=126246595
