UPDATED with lawsuit filed: The alleged victim in an altercation early Saturday morning in Indianapolis in which Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was stabbed has filed a civil suit against Sanchez and Fox Sports’ parent company Fox Corporation.
The suit (read it here) was filed Monday in Marion (Ind.) Superior Court, just after the news that Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears had added a felony battery charge to three misdemeanors against Sanchez for the incident, in which the truck driver, Perry Tole, age 69, and Sanchez, age 38, fought in an alley between two Indianapolis hotels.
The fight led to Sanchez being stabbed and Tole suffering “significant and very severe injuries,” Mears said today. Both were taken to different area hospitals; Sanchez was later arrested at his hospital.
The lawsuit seeks damages from Sanchez on a claim of assault/battery, and from Fox for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision, claiming the company “knew or should have known about Defendant, Sanchez’s unfitness as an employee, propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.” It resulted in Tole “suffering suffered severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress, and other damages,” according to the suit, which is seeking a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages and “costs and expenses of this action, including reasonable attorney’s fees…”
Deadline has reached out to Fox for comment on the incident and the lawsuit.
In addition to the two claims, the lawsuit also provides addition details from Tole’s side about the altercation, though it did not detail the stabbing, which Means said earlier in the day occurred as a means of self-defense by Tole:
At all times relevant, Plaintiff, Perry Tole was performing his duties as an employee
of a company specializing in commercial cooking oil recycling and disposal at the loading deck
area of the Westin Hotel when he was approached by Defendant, Sanchez.Defendant, Sanchez, appearing intoxicated, instigated an altercation with Plaintiff,
Perry Tole, claiming that Plaintiff, Perry Tole, could not be at the location and that Defendant,
Sanchez had spoken to the hotel manager.During the interaction, Defendant, Sanchez attempted to enter and later entered
Plaintiff, Perry Tole’s work truck without permission and blocked Plaintiff, Perry Tole from
accessing his cellphone to contact his manager.The situation escalated when Defendant, Sanchez physically blocked and shoved
Plaintiff, Perry Tole, leading Plaintiff, Perry Tole, to use pepper spray in self-defense.Despite the use of pepper spray, Defendant, Sanchez continued to advance towards
Plaintiff, Perry Tole, resulting in a physical altercation which resulted in Plaintiff, Perry Tole
suffering significant injuries to his head, jaw and neck.
Today’s new count against Sanchez, a level 5 felony of battery causing serious injury, carries a sentence of 1-6 years in prison. That is in addition to three misdemeanors filed over the weekend for battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle, and public intoxication.
Mears said the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed.
PREVIOUSLY, 10:26 AM: Prosecutors in Indianapolis have added a felony battery charge in the ongoing case of Mark Sanchez, the former NFL and USC quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst who was stabbed over the weekend during an early-morning altercation in an alley with a truck driver.
Marion County (IN) Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Monday in a press conference that a charge of battery causing serious injury, a level 5 felony, has been added to three misdemeanor charges originally filed this weekend against Sanchez, who was in town to broadcast Fox’s Indianapolis Colts-Las Vegas Raiders NFL game.
With the felony count, Sanchez could face 1-6 years in prison. Mears said today the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Sanchez, 38, was involved in an altercation with the 69-year-old truck driver in the early-morning hours of Saturday, when police said the driver allegedly stabbed Sanchez while defending himself during a fight.
Sanchez was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and has since stabilized. He later was arrested at the hospital on counts of battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication, all misdemeanors. The driver was taken to a separate hospital with “significant and very severe injuries.”
Mears said the incident involved a fight in an alley that was well covered by surveillance cameras, which are being used as part of the investigation. The alley was located between a pair of hotels. Witnesses also have come forward, he said.
According to eyewitness accounts as reported by local media, footage showed Sanchez “approaching a box truck that was backed into a loading dock” after complaining to a hotel manager that the truck needed to be moved. Footage eventually showed a fight breaking out near a dumpster, with the victim telling police he pepper-sprayed Sanchez before pulling out a knife and stabbing Sanchez multiple times in self-defense.
“This was a situation that did not need to occur,” Mears said today, adding, “The probable cause outlines the initial nature of that dispute — we are literally talking about people fighting over a parking space, or a dispute over where people are parking, and it resulted in someone receiving incredibly significant injuries.”
Sanchez, who also was the “Alien Baby” vocalist on The Masked Singer in 2020, was replaced on the Fox broadcast Sunday by Brady Quinn, and Fox announcers addressed the incident yesterday on-air saying their “thoughts and prayers are with Mark, his family, and all of those involved.”
During today’s press conference, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey asked for “thoughts and prayers” only for the victim and his family.
