Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez was not in attendance at a pretrial hearing as he prepares to face charges in relation to a violent incident in Indianapolis earlier this month.
“Thank you for allowing our client to be excused from today’s hearing,” Sanchez’s attorney Tim Delaney said inside a Marion County, Indiana, courtroom on Wednesday, October 22. “He’s still recovering from the injuries he sustained and the medical intervention.”
Delaney said Sanchez’s recovery process is “ongoing” and “may impact some of the dates” as the case moves forward.
For now, however, Judge James B. Osborn set a final pretrial hearing for December 2 before the jury trial begins on December 11.
Erin Campaneris, the mother of Mark Sanchez’s 8-year-old son, has broken her silence following her ex-boyfriend’s arrest. “I am aware of the serious criminal charges currently facing my son’s father, Mark Sanchez,” Companeris, who goes by Bobby T in the modeling industry, said in a statement shared via Instagram on Sunday, October 12. “My foremost […]
Sanchez, 38, was arrested on October 4, while the former New York Jets quarterback was in town to broadcast the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders for Fox Sports the following day.
He was initially charged with three misdemeanors in connection to the incident: battery resulting in injury, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors added a felony 5 charge to the list of other alleged offenses against Sanchez on October 6, which carries a penalty of one to five years in prison. Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Sanchez allegedly attacked a delivery driver named Perry Tole, 69, over the location of his parked box truck in the alley near a popular Indianapolis bar and multiple hotels.
The former USC star allegedly informed Tole he had spoken to hotel management and said his truck was not supposed to be there. When Tole tried to call his supervisor, he said Sanchez blocked him and refused to leave.
Sanchez allegedly became violent, with Tole fearing for his life. In response, Tole allegedly used pepper spray on Sanchez and stabbed him multiple times. Tole was also injured badly, left with a huge gash on his cheek.
Both men were transported to the hospital with their injuries, where Sanchez was later arrested.
Sanchez broke his silence about the incident outside the Marion County Jail in Indianapolis on October 12.
“Right now, I’m just focused on my recovery,” Sanchez said in an interview with Fox59 News and CBS 4 Indy. “I just wanted to thank the first responders, Eskenazi Hospital. I just want to thank Dr. [Lindsey] Mossler, the surgeon. She saved my life, so I’m grateful for that.”
Tole also filed a lawsuit against Sanchez and Fox Corporation on October 6, seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs and expenses of this action, including attorney’s fees and any other relief that the court deems just and proper.
In the lawsuit, Tole said he sustained “serious bodily injury” due to Sanchez’s “malicious, willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct.”
The man suffered severe “permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages,” per the lawsuit.
Tole also sued Fox Corporation, who Sanchez has worked for as an NFL television analyst since 2021.
The lawsuit claimed Fox has a duty to ensure that its employees conduct themselves “in a reasonable manner.”
Tole argued Fox should have been aware of Sanchez’s alleged “unfitness” and his “propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Fox Sports for comment.