Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is facing three criminal misdemeanor charges, including battery with injury, after an altercation in Indianapolis in which he was pepper sprayed and stabbed, court documents showed on Sunday. Sanchez, now a commentator with Fox Sports who was in Indianapolis to cover the Colts’ NFL game, was also charged with public intoxication and unlawful entry of a vehicle by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday in the wake of an incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“This incident should never have happened,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “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.”
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According to an affidavit for probable cause, Sanchez accosted the driver of a truck parked in the loading dock of a hotel, where the driver was exchanging frying oil for the kitchen. The truck driver, identified in the document only as “P.T.,” told investigators he feared for his life when he sprayed Sanchez in the face with pepper spray and then, when the younger man continued to advance toward him, used his knife to stab him. Sanchez, who suffered multiple stab wounds to his right torso, was arrested in hospital on Saturday.
According to the affidavit, there was a witness to the altercation as well as security camera video which allegedly shows Sanchez throwing the driver to the ground. Sanchez was selected fifth overall in the 2009 NFL draft by the New York Jets, helping them to the AFC championship game in each of his first two seasons. In an eight-year NFL career, he also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington.
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