Ex-USC quarterback Mark Sanchez plans to plead guilty in connection to fight with truck driver
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- Ex-USC and NFL QB Mark Sanchez will plead guilty over last year’s downtown Indianapolis altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver, averting a jury trial on felony battery charges.
- The former Fox Sports analyst faces a felony count of battery causing serious bodily injury plus related misdemeanors.
- Representatives for Sanchez and driver Perry Tole describe constructive talks toward resolving the civil case involving the incident.
Former USC and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez plans to enter a guilty plea in connection with his physical altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver in Indianapolis last October, according to online court records.
Attorneys for both sides entered a joint motion Thursday requesting that the judge “set this matter for a guilty plea and sentencing hearing,” according to WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, which has viewed the filing.
A jury trial had been scheduled to start Tuesday. The filing asks instead for a sentencing trial to be scheduled for November.
Former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez is facing a felony charge after his physical altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver Saturday. Sanchez is also facing a civil lawsuit.
“The parties have reached a resolution that will obviate the need for the jury trial,” the document reads.
Sanchez was in town during the first weekend of October to cover a Colts game for Fox Sports. According to a police affidavit, Sanchez accosted Perry Tole after the Indiana resident had backed his truck into the loading docks of a downtown Indianapolis hotel.
Sanchez was charged with a level five felony of battery involving serious bodily injury, as well as the misdemeanors of battery resulting in injury, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication. It is not clear the charges to which Sanchez will be pleading guilty.
Legendary Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith is among the co-defendants in a lawsuit by a Native American investment firm that claims it was scammed out of $2.5 million.
In a civil suit against Sanchez, Tole alleged that he suffered “severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress, and other damages.” Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds to his upper right torso following the incident.
“This is a positive development. We are finalizing an agreement with the prosecutor’s office that provides a path toward resolving the state’s case,” Nick Sanchez Jr., the former quarterback’s brother and legal advisor, said Thursday in a statement obtained by multiple media outlets. “We’re also encouraged by the constructive conversations taking place regarding the related civil matter. There is real momentum toward bringing this entire chapter to a close.”
After pleading no contest to an OWI charge, former Cowboys star Tony Romo says he’s ‘working closely with a team of doctors to address my health and make the necessary changes’ in his life.
Tole’s attorney, Matt Golitko, said Thursday in a statement: “We are pleased with the constructive and professional conversations we’ve had with Mr. Sanchez’s team. Our discussions have been productive and we’re on a positive path toward an agreement that will allow the parties to move forward. Mr. Tole appreciates the progress we have achieved and looks forward to an amicable resolution.”
Sanchez played for the New York Jets, Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington during his eight-year NFL career. Fox Sports confirmed in November that Sanchez is no longer employed by the network.
