One of Penn State football’s best players is facing an assault charge.
Per a court affidavit of probable cause attained by StateCollege.com, Abdul Carter, a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker who’s entering his third season with the program and first since moving to defensive end over the offseason is facing a misdemeanor assault charge.
A star Penn State football player is facing a misdemeanor assault charge after a confrontation with a tow truck driver in College Township. https://t.co/AD0I4S47KN
— StateCollege.com (@StateCollegecom) April 24, 2024
Carter, 20, has been accused of assaulting a tow truck driver.
He’s said to have pulled the driver from his truck by force before throwing him to the ground, leading to a second-degree misdemeanor charge that came down Wednesday. Specifically, he’s being charged with simple assault and a summary court of harassment.
Per an affidavit of probable cause the State College police filed, this transpired March 16.
Here’s what happened next per StateCollege.com
“When a driver from Halfmoon Valley Towing attempted to tow the vehicle, the alarm went off, causing Carter to come outside.
”Carter went back inside to get money to pay a drop fee, but, he told police, he wanted to be sure his car wasn’t being stolen, and when he returned he questioned the driver about his authority to tow. The driver informed him that Halfmoon has a contract to enforce parking violations at the complex and that he would need to provide a name and address for the vehicle to be released.
“After Carter refused to provide the information, police wrote, the driver resumed the process of towing the car. As the driver returned to the truck, Carter told him he was going to call 911 and used his forearm to block the driver from getting inside, according to the affidavit.”
Police wrote that the driver subsequently picked up a metal bar from the truck and yelled for Carter to back up. Carter obliged. Then, when the driver got inside the vehicle, video shows Carter wrapping his arms around the driver’s abdomen and, per the affadivit, “forcefully pulled multiple times to break his grip from the steering wheel.”
Carter proceeded to pick up the driver, walk him across the lot to a grassy area and throw him on the ground, per police.
Both men then went back to the truck, and the driver, believing a cell phone on the ground belonged to him, picked it up. After this, Carter again grabbed the driver and, per police, is seen on video controlling the victim with one arm over the top of the victim’s shoulder while his other hand is holding his sweatshirt.”
Per StateCollege.com, the Penn State DE “then tossed the phone when he realized it wasn’t his, at which point Carter took him to the ground and held him down, according to the affidavit.”
“Video showed Carter allowing the driver to get up but held him back again when the man tried to return to the truck, police wrote. Carter released the man when a witness said she called 911, but continued to block the driver’s side door, according to the affidavit.”
StateCollege.com reported that the driver went to the hospital the next day for soreness, and an X-ray showed he had fractured a non-displaced rib.
Carter’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 22.
