A bloodied Mark Sanchez frantically knocked on the window of an Indianapolis pub, claiming to be a shooting victim after being stabbed around 12:30 am on Saturday, according to a key witness.
‘As I was closing, someone was banging on the window, just a random person,’ recounted Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery bartender Scott Bennett to Fox59.com. ‘I saw the person needed help and went outside; he had blood on him and claimed he’d been shot.’
‘Brought him inside and laid him down, and we called 911 and put towels over the injuries that he had.
‘There was definitely blood, though not gushing, mostly from his chest, abdomen, and crotch area. His pants were stained. I tried to talk to him to get his name, but he was hard to understand. I didn’t recognize him at first.’
Bennett later found out the man was former New York Jets quarterback Sanchez, who was hospitalized and then arrested on misdemeanor charges of public intoxication, battery inflicting injury, and unauthorized vehicle entry. On Monday, the battery charge became a felony, carrying a potential sentence of 1 to 6 years in prison.
Sanchez has since posted a $300 bond.
Mark Sanchez was bleeding from his chest when he pounded on the pub window Saturday
Scott Bennett explained to Fox59.com that Sanchez initially thought he’d been shot after being stabbed early that Saturday in an Indianapolis alley.
Despite suffering a critical stab wound, police now suspect Sanchez was the aggressor in a late-night confrontation with a 69-year-old truck driver, referred to as P.T. in the affidavit.
Based on hotel security footage and testimony from P.T., Sanchez is accused of drunkenly accosting the driver, who was trying to back his box trick into a hotel’s loading dock, leading to a physical confrontation. Ultimately the driver used pepper spray and a knife in self defense, according to the affidavit reviewed by Daily Mail.
The driver suffered a cut to his cheek and a neck injury, as revealed by newly surfaced photos from P.T.’s hospital bed.
P.T. told police Sanchez smelled of alcohol and slurred his speech. Sanchez, meanwhile, told police he could not remember anything about the incident.
Daily Mail has reached out to Sanchez’s attorney for comment. He is due in court on Tuesday.
Sanchez, who now works as a Fox Sports announcer, was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Raiders-Colts game but was ultimately replaced by former Notre Dame and Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn.
Former USC Trojans and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, right, with his wife Perry and son Daniel attend the game against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center on January 27, 2024
An investigation is ongoing.
‘This incident should never have happened,’ Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement issued Sunday.
‘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.’
Sanchez was the fifth-overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft before an up-and-down career with the Jets that is often remembered for the infamous ‘Butt Fumble’ – when the California native lost the football after running into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore during a 2012 loss to the rival New England Patriots.
He has been with Fox Sports since leaving ESPN in 2021.
