A bartender at a downtown Indianapolis establishment shared details about the chaotic moments following the stabbing of former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, revealing that the injured analyst believed he had been shot.
Scott Bennett, who was closing up Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery a little after 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 4, told FOX59 News that Sanchez, 38, appeared outside the bar shortly after midnight, knocking on the glass and asking for help.
“As I was closing, somebody was banging on the window, I thought it was just a random person,” Bennett recalled. “I went up to the window and realized that person needed help. Went outside and the person had blood on them and said they had been shot. Laid them down and we called 911 and put towels over the injuries that he had.”
He added, “There was definitely blood. It wasn’t shooting out or anything like that, some in the chest and abdomen region. I was trying to get his name, couldn’t understand what he was saying. I didn’t recognize him.”
Police later confirmed the injured man was Sanchez. He had suffered multiple stab wounds to his upper torso following a fight with a 69-year-old truck driver, identified in court documents as P.T., near the Westin Hotel and Indianapolis Marriott Downtown around 12:30 a.m.
Authorities say the altercation began when Sanchez approached P.T.’s grease collection truck parked behind the Marriott. Sanchez allegedly claimed to have spoken to a hotel manager who told him the truck needed to move. P.T. was there on a job collecting used cooking oil and reportedly refused to leave.
Moments later, things escalated. P.T. said Sanchez began yelling and tried to enter the cab of his truck despite being told to leave. “He kept coming at me,” P.T. told the police. “I thought this guy is trying to kill me.”
The driver said he first used pepper spray to defend himself, but when Sanchez continued assaulting him, he pulled out a knife and stabbed him multiple times in self-defense. When officers arrived, they found Sanchez bleeding heavily and P.T. nearby with cuts to his face. Both men were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
According to records obtained by Us Weekly, P.T. told detectives that he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids when the confrontation began, which may have led to confusion as Sanchez approached him.
“P.T. did not have his hearing aids in because his truck is very loud when he is exchanging the frying oil for the hotel, so he had to lean in close to Mr. Sanchez to hear him,” the affidavit stated. “When P.T. leaned in, he stated that Mr. Sanchez smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred.”
Sanchez was originally charged with three misdemeanors: battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle,
The former quarterback now faces a Level 5 felony charge of battery involving serious bodily injury, prosecutors announced Monday, October 6. The upgraded charge carries a potential sentence of one to six years in prison.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey emphasized that Sanchez will not receive any special treatment.
“I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you do for a living, I don’t care where you live, if you come into our city, commit violence, we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold you accountable,” Bailey said during a Monday, October 6th press conference. “We’re lucky that no one’s dead right now.”
Sanchez’s initial court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, at 8:30 a.m.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
