More than two days after an altercation between Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez and a 69-year-old truck driver, a steady trail of dried blood remained visible Oct. 6 in the downtown Indianapolis alley where it occurred.
Sanchez, a former NFL quarterback, was visiting the city to call a game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders when Indianapolis police say he attacked the other man just after 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 4. The man stabbed Sanchez in self-defense, court documents indicate, sending Sanchez to the hospital with multiple wounds on his upper torso.
By that afternoon, the news of Sanchez’s hospitalization had spread across the country, placing national attention on Indianapolis and what happened in that alley between two large chain hotels. NFL fans in town for the Sunday game milled around, pointing out the spot where Sanchez was believed to have been stabbed near the corner of South Senate Avenue and Washington Street.
On Oct. 6, IndyStar captured photos and details of where the alleged attack took place, piecing together court documents and police records to describe the scene.
Where did the Mark Sanchez stabbing take place?
Police say Sanchez attacked the older man in the South Senate Avenue alley running north-south in between Washington and Maryland streets in downtown Indianapolis. The alley, with the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown on one side and a Westin hotel on the other, does not operate as a regular road.
According to court documents, the altercation between Sanchez and the driver of the box truck began at the loading dock of the Westin on the east side of the alley, where Sanchez first approached the older man as he was working. The loading dock is about halfway down the alley, slightly closer to the south end.
The driver had his truck backed up to the dock and was replacing cooking oil as part of his job, court documents say. Prosecutors said Sanchez was aggravated and attacked the man over parking. It’s unclear why Sanchez was upset about where the truck was parked.
Located next to the loading dock is a door to a Westin security room. The driver tried to flag down security at the location to help defuse the situation with Sanchez, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Video from the Marriott showed Sanchez “grabbing and throwing (the other man) towards the wall of the Westin,” according to the probable cause affidavit. The man fell into a green dumpster and pallets on the ground, documents say.
Two green dumpsters sat at the Marriott loading dock Oct. 6, two days after the altercation. Several piles of pallets were strewn at different points in the alley, which has a constant smell of trash and grease.
The trail of dried blood remained visible starting at the north side of the alley and continuing down the sidewalk in front of the buildings on the south side of Washington Street.
Pronta Pizzeria is at the northeast end of the block, where Sanchez is believed to have rounded the corner after being stabbed. East of the pizzeria is the Indiana Department of Insurance, followed by a Subway and Loughmiller’s Pub on the other corner.
What charges is Mark Sanchez facing?
The Marion County’s Prosecutor’s Office charged Sanchez with one felony count of battery resulting in serious bodily injury and two misdemeanors: public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle. The felony count carries up to 6 years in jail.
Sanchez pleaded not guilty.
(This story was updated to meet our standards.)
Contact IndyStar reporter Alysa Guffey at amguffey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: See Indianapolis alley where police say Mark Sanchez attacked 69-year-old man
Reporting by Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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