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Mark Sanchez’s criminal trial has been pushed back for a fifth time, over nine months after he was arrested for allegedly attacking a truck driver.
The former NFL quarterback is facing multiple criminal charges after being accused of assaulting 69-year-old Perry Tole in Indianapolis back in October.
The trial was initially slated to begin last year, yet after the first delay from November to December it was subsequently postponed to March, April and then May, before a fifth date of July 13 was set.
According to Indianapolis news station FOX59, Sanchez’s trial was delayed once again at a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, with the judge setting a new date of September 8.
During an alleged near-fatal brawl with Tole, Sanchez, 39, suffered multiple stab wounds to his upper right torso.
The ex-New York Jets star – who was fired from his job as a Fox Sports analyst – may have been under the influence of cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and alcohol, according to a document filed by Tole’s attorneys in a related federal lawsuit.
The trial of former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez has been delayed for a fifth time
Sanchez, pictured with wife Perry Mattfeld, is facing several charges including felony battery
Sanchez, who has been married to wife Perry Mattfeld since 2023, faces counts of felony battery as well as misdemeanor public intoxication and unauthorized entry of a vehicle.
The former Jets first-round draft pick was in Indianapolis to cover the Colts’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders for Fox the following day when the altercation with Tole occurred.
After briefly being booked into jail upon his release from hospital, he was fired by the network in early November.
A police affidavit alleged that Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on October 4.
Tole claimed in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked him. The driver responded by dousing him with pepper spray, he told police.
When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.
A picture of Tole that circulated online following the incident showed him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.
Tole, who has claimed self-defense and has not been charged, is suing Sanchez, Fox Sports and local restaurateur Huse Culinary in federal court.
The 39-year-old was fired by Fox Sports a month on from his arrest over the alleged incident
Among the allegations against Sanchez are that he may have been under the influence of cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and alcohol.
‘[Tole] has cause to believe that one or more of these substances may have been consumed in one of [the restaurant company’s] establishments which caused or contributed to Sanchez’s impairment and his subsequent negligent and/or knowing conduct,’ read the filing, obtained by the Daily Mail.
Tole’s attorneys did not provide any evidence to support these claims and are instead calling for a further investigation to confirm the extent of Sanchez’s intoxication and whether any defendants had knowledge of him using additional intoxicants.
In a statement provided to Daily Mail, Sanchez’s attorney Andrew M. McNeil said: ‘These are allegations in a civil filing, nothing more, and they should be treated accordingly. Allegations are not evidence. The truth will be determined by facts and evidence presented at trial, and we look forward to presenting them at the appropriate time.’
