Mark Sanchez’s battery case took a surprising turn on Tuesday when it was revealed that the initially assigned judge decided to step down from the case, as per a report.

The retired quarterback, 38, was formally booked on four charges at Marion County Jail on Sunday after being released from hospital.

The Fox commentator could face up to six years in prison for an aggressive encounter with 69-year-old Perry Tole, who claims he acted in self-defense when he stabbed Sanchez on October 4.

Records from the Indiana court indicate that Judge Jennifer Prinz Harrison issued a recusal order, requesting that Sanchez’s case be randomly reassigned to a different court. The reasons behind Harrison’s decision to withdraw were not detailed in the order.

James B. Osborn is now scheduled to oversee the case, with Sanchez’s pretrial hearing being moved forward from the original date of November 5 to October 22. The retired NFL quarterback will be allowed to participate in the proceedings virtually.

Harrison has previously come under fire from critics who have deemed her punishments too lenient, according to the Indy Star. 

Judge Harrison had previously faced criticism from Joe Carter, the former superintendent of the Indiana State Police in October 2023, after she released Luis Leyba-Gonzalez, who was accused of killing three individuals, including his cousin and younger brother, during a high-speed police chase.

The third victim was an uninvolved driver, 21-year-old Makayla Hankins, who had gotten married only 10 days before her death.

Leyba-Gonzalez admitted to nine charges and was sentenced by Harrison earlier this month to two years in prison. Additionally, he will serve seven years under home detention.

Harrison also presided over the case of Caden Smith, a 16-year-old accused of killing three. In 2022, she ruled that a search warrant and a SWAT raid used to arrest Smith were potentially unconstitutional as a result major evidence, including the murder weapon, was surprised. Smith was released on $1,000 bond. 

Less than two months after his release, Smith was arrested for dealing marijuana and Harrison ordered him back into custody. In August 2024, she sentenced him to 189 years in prison for the triple killing. 

The former signal caller was booked on four charges, including battery resulting is serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony, at Marion County Jail on Sunday after he was released from hospital where he had been treated for critical stab wounds.

Sanchez was booked for battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, a Class B misdemeanor, public intoxication that endangers the life of another, a Class B misdemeanor, and battery resulting is serious bodily injury, a Level 5 Felony.

Sanchez was fingerprinted and had his mugshot taken at the jail, which a judge had ruled he must do before being able to leave Indiana.

As he left the jail, Sanchez spoke to reporters for the first time since the incident, thanking the first responders for saving his life.

‘I’m just focused on my recovery,’ he told Fox 59. ‘I want to thank the first responders Eskenazi hospital. I just want to thank Dr. Mossler, the surgeon, she saved my life. I’m grateful for that.’

‘I’m recovering slowly. It’s a long process,’ Sanchez, who had his right arm in a sling, told a reporter when asked if he was feeling better.

He stayed mum as he slowly made his way into the jail earlier on Sunday morning. Dressed in tracksuit pants and a hoodie draped across his shoulders to accommodate the sling, he gingerly walked through the security checkpoint.

The unsavory incident occurred in the early hours of October 4, after Sanchez was observed acting ‘erratically’ and running ‘wind sprints’ during a night out ahead of covering the Colts’ NFL game.

It is alleged that Sanchez took issue with Tole parking his truck in a loading dock while he collected cooking oil on his night shift, as it was disrupting his impromptu workout.

Sanchez, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound former quarterback, is said to have then pummeled Tole and slammed him to the ground, before the latter used mace and then stabbed his assailant two to three times in the chest.

The ex-NFL player was then seen stumbling back toward the Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery, where he was given medical attention and rushed to hospital.

He is also facing a lawsuit from Tole, who is suing him for assault/battery and also Fox for negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

In the suit, he reportedly states that Sanchez appeared intoxicated and instigated the fight, which caused him permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages. Tole claims he has significant injuries to his head, jaw and neck.

He has also targeted Fox after claiming the network should have known him as a bad fit due to his ‘propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.’

Tole suffered brutal lacerations in the violent altercation with Sanchez and as he recovered at home he spoke out earlier this week, telling a friend: ‘Faith guided my hands to protect myself.’