Penn State DE Abdul Carter faces misdemeanor assault charge
Penn State junior defensive end Abdul Carter was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor assault for an alleged physical altercation involving a tow truck driver in March. WJAC reported the filing of the charges against Carter first.
According to the report, Carter’s Dodge Challenger was in the process of being towed from the Aspen apartment complex in State College early in the morning of March 16 for being parked there without a permit. Upon hearing his car alarm, Carter confronted the tow truck driver, who told Carter he could avoid the tow if he paid a fee.
“Police say Carter initially attempted to go back into the residence to get the money, but then returned and began asking the victim additional questions. Authorities say Carter was reportedly concerned about his vehicle being stolen and ‘questioned the victim’s authority.'”
Escalating into a verbal altercation, with Carter refusing to provide personal information to the tow driver, the tow driver resumed the process of towing the car. However, Carter told the driver he would call 911 and physically prevented the driver from entering the car.
From StateCollege.com’s report on the incident:
“The driver, police wrote, grabbed a metal bar from the truck and yelled at Carter to back away, which he did. When the driver got inside, witness video showed that Carter wrapped his arms around the man’s abdomen and forcefully pulled multiple times to break his grip from the steering wheel, according to the affidavit. Carter then carried the driver across the lot to a grassy area, where he threw him to the ground, police wrote.”
Upon further tussling, including the tossing of Carter’s cell phone, Carter initially continued to hold down the alleged victim until a witness threatened to call 911. Even then, the report alleges, Carter continued to prevent the driver from entering the vehicle.
According to StateCollege.com, the driver of the tow truck received treatment the following day for soreness, and an “X-ray revealed he had non-displaced rib fracture.”
According to the court documents, Carter faces a preliminary hearing on May 22.
Carter enters his third season at Penn State this year. He has also racked up 104 tackles (16 for loss) and 11 sacks. A member of multi True Freshman All-American teams back in 2022, he added first-team all-conference honors to his list of accolades in 2023 and was a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated
