Mark Sanchez was booked at the Marion County jail Sunday, Oct. 12.
INDIANAPOLIS — Former NFL quarterback and FOX Sports analyst Mark Sanchez has been discharged from the hospital and was booked at the Marion County jail Sunday morning.
This is following his alleged role in a physical altercation that resulted in him being stabbed in downtown Indianapolis early Saturday morning, Oct. 4.
The judge’s order said Sanchez had to be booked and fingerprinted before he could travel and leave the state.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced Sunday, Oct. 5 that his office has filed charges against 38-year-old Sanchez.
On Monday, Oct. 6, Mears announced the prosecutor’s office has now filed a Level 5 felony charge against Sanchez for battery resulting in serious bodily injury. If convicted on the Level 5 felony, Sanchez faces up to one to five years in prison. The case will now be transferred to major felony court, who will decide Sanchez’s bond.
“We are literally talking about people fighting over a parking space,” Mears said.
Sanchez is also facing misdemeanor charges of battery resulting in injury, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.
“I don’t care you who are, what you do for a living — if you come into our city and commit violence, we will use all of our tools in our arsenal to hold you accountable,” IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said at the news conference.
Sanchez’s initial court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 8:30 a.m. However, Sanchez’s lawyers filed a motion to waive Sanchez’s initial hearing and enter a plea of not guilty.
The judge granted that request to waive the initial hearing and scheduled a pretrial conference for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
NBC obtained the following statement from Nick Sanchez, Mark’s brother, on behalf of the Sanchez family:
“This has been a deeply distressing time for everyone involved. Mark and our family are incredibly grateful for the concern, love, and support we’ve received over the past few days. Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he sustained and is focused on his recovery as the legal process continues. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and medical staff.”
“We are still in the early stages of this investigation. Chief and his team have a number of search warrants that are still outstanding. They’re still tracking down additional information. This is, by no means, the the end of this investigation,” Mears said. “This, by no means, means that these are going to be the final charges that we move forward with.”
Both Mears and Bailey said once they receive information from both men’s medical records, it will give them further insight to the investigation.
“We’re obviously very interested in what those medical records look like because they can, a lot of times, give us greater insight into what was going on that day and potentially provide some information into an individual’s state of mind,” Mears said.
The incident
An IMPD spokesperson said officers responded to a report of a physical disturbance in the 300 block of West Washington Street, near Senate Avenue, around 12:30 a.m. Oct. 4.
When officers arrived, they found two men, who IMPD said were not local residents, injured. Perry Tole, 69, reportedly suffered lacerations, and the other – later identified as Sanchez – sustained “injuries consistent with stab wounds.” Both men received medical treatment, police said, and continue to receive medical care.
According to court documents, in an interview with police, Tole said that Sanchez approached him in an alley near West Washington Street while he was in a large box truck that was backed into the loading docks of the Westin Indianapolis and Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.
Court documents say Tole is an employee for a company that specializes in commercial cooking oil recycling and disposal and was working when Sanchez approached him.
According to court documents, Tole told police that Sanchez opened the driver’s door of his truck, so he got out. Tole said Sanchez allegedly told him that he couldn’t be at the loading dock and that Sanchez had spoken to the manager of the hotel.
Court documents say Tole didn’t have his hearing aids in because the truck is “very loud” when he is exchanging the frying oil for the hotel, so he had to lean in close to Sanchez. While leaning in, court documents say Tole said Sanchez smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred.
According to court documents, Tole was confused by Sanchez and said he needed to contact the manager to figure out what was going on.
Court documents say Sanchez then climbed up into the cab of the truck and leaned over the driver’s seat and looked in toward the middle areas between the seats.
Tole told Sanchez he wasn’t allowed to be inside of the truck, court documents say, so Sanchez came down.
Sanchez allegedly kept repeating that he spoke to the hotel manager and they didn’t want Tole to replace the fryer oil.
Sanchez then allegedly tried to get into the truck again, and Tole said he couldn’t let him in the truck.
According to court documents, Tole told police he knew at this time that he had a problem, so he tried to get his cellphone from the truck, but Sanchez blocked him from doing so.
Court documents say Tole walked to the front of the truck, and Sanchez followed him. Tole then said he walked over to the opposite loading dock area of The Westin Indianapolis and Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Court documents say he knew that entry point was the security office for the Marriott, so he was trying to flag down one of the security officers to help him with Sanchez.
According to court documents, Tole then walked back to the passenger side of the truck, but Sanchez blocked him. Court documents say Tole then ran to the driver’s side of the truck to try and get his cellphone but was blocked by Sanchez again.
In surveillance video that detectives watched from the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, court documents say Sanchez grabbed and threw Tole toward the wall.
That’s when Tole realized he was in physical danger, court documents say, so he reached into his pocket and grabbed his pepper spray and sprayed Sanchez in the face.
Court documents say Sanchez wiped his face and started going toward Tole again. Tole said he thought “this guy is trying to kill me,” so he pulled his knife, and when Sanchez came at him, he struck him two or three times with the knife.
Court documents say Tole found himself falling back into a dumpster and onto the pallets on the ground and wasn’t aware of what Sanchez was doing to him, whether he was punching him or otherwise striking him.
While Tole was on the ground, court documents say he saw Sanchez coming toward him again, so he stood up and struck him with the knife one more time.
Court documents say Tole recalled Sanchez looked at him with a “look of shock” for a brief moment before turning and running back into the alley.
According to court documents, Tole’s statement closely matches the surveillance video detectives watched from the Marriott.
Court documents say detectives on scene collected a knife in the driver’s seat of the truck.
IMPD announced around 5 p.m. Oct. 4 that police arrested Sanchez for his alleged role in the incident.
Victim’s condition
According to family, Tole is having difficulty speaking due to the facial injuries suffered during the alleged attack. Family says Tole has a large gash on his face that is “several” inches long and that the side of his face was cut open all the way through his cheek and into his tongue.
