Former Denver Broncos quarterback Mark Sanchez was booked into the Marion County Jail and later released on Sunday. The Fox Sports analyst faces felony charges and possible jail time if found guilty. He offered his first comments on the matter.
Sanchez has been out of the league since 2019. He spent the 2016 offseason with the Broncos, who acquired him in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Per The Athletic’s Devon Henderson and James Boyd, Sanchez’s first court date is November 5.
Ex-Broncos QB Mark Sanchez Breaks Silence After Arrest as Felony Charges Loom
GettyFormer NFL player Mark Sanchez greets Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs before Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers.
Fox59’s Angela Ganote relayed Sanchez’s comments, which came in response to questions from colleague Russ McQuaid.
“Right now I am just kind of focused on my recovery and I just want to thank the first responders, Eskenazi hospital, Marion County Sherif, and the Indianapolis Police Department, metro PD, But I’m focused on my recovery, and I just want to see my wife, I want to see my son, my two baby girls,” Sanchez told McQuaid, per Ganote on X on October 12.
“It’ll be a day to answer all these questions, and unfortunately today is not that day.”
McQuaid also asked Sanchez if he had anything to say about the other party involved in his incident. The former No. 5 overall pick of the 2009 draft said, “I guess the real thing here is I just want to thank Dr. Mosler, the surgeon. She saved my life. So I’m grateful for that.”
Sanchez said as he exited the Marion County Jail that he was “recovering slowly” and that he faced a “long process,” while apologizing for being unable to answer all of the questions presented to him.
Sanchez’s charges include “A level-5 felony of battery involving serious bodily injury.” That contains a penalty of 1-to-6 years,” per Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears on October 6.
Video Emerges in Mark Sanchez Altercation
GettyMark Sanchez #6 of the Denver Broncos runs onto the field before a game against the Arizona Cardinals.
TMZ released video footage of Sanchez before and after the incident, which left the other individual, 69-year-old truck driver Perry Tole, who was working, hospitalized.
Fox59 also released footage of Sanchez entering Marion County Jail for booking on Sunday.
Initial reports framed the incident as an assault and Sanchez as the victim of an attempted robbery. However, police arrested Sanchez while the former Broncos passer was hospitalized and announced they had upgraded his initial charges.
Those charges included “battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.”
Notably, the initial charges were all misdemeanors.
“We received an amended, or an additional probable cause affidavit this morning,” Mears said. “Again, this is something that happens in virtually every case here in Marion County. And with that additional information, we have added more serious charges against Mr. Sanchez.”
Mark Sanchez Facing Lawsuit
GettyMark Sanchez #6 of the Denver Broncos warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
In addition to his criminal proceedings, Sanchez is also facing litigation from Tole over the altercation.
“The grease truck driver who stabbed Mark Sanchez is suing the ex-Jets quarterback, saying he was left permanently disfigured by the alleged attack,” the New York Post’s Anthony Blair wrote on October 6. “Perry Tole, 69, filed a lawsuit against Sanchez, 38, and his employer, Fox Sports, for punitive and compensatory of damages following the alleged violent attack in an Indianapolis alleyway at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
“The lawsuit alleges Tole “suffered severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages,” as a result of Sanchez’s “malicious, willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct.”
Per Blair, “The lawsuit also alleges Sanchez’s employer ‘knew or should have known’ about Sanchez’s ‘unfitness as an employee, propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.’”
Sanchez was arrested in 2006 on suspicion of sexual assault.
Per Gary Klein and Jill Leovy for the LA Times, “According to an employee of the 901 Club on Figueroa Street, club security cameras show Sanchez arrived at the bar Tuesday night at 11:21, using a fake Arizona ID that showed his name as Jordan Traver Uttal.”
No charges were filed regarding the suspicion of sexual assault, but the Trojans did discipline him over the ID and alcohol use.
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