Former Mankato university football player sentenced for 2014 shooting near Renaissance Festival

A former Minnesota State University, Mankato football player who shot a man near the Renaissance Festival grounds in hopes of eliminating a drug debt was recently sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison.

Dennis E. Carter Jr., 26, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree attempted murder with intent for shooting Diaa Abdelhakim on Aug. 20, 2014, in Scott County. On July 29, Scott County Judge Ann Offermann sentenced Carter to 12 years and 9 months in prison.

Abdelhakim survived despite being shot in the back of the head. He later told authorities that Carter sold drugs for him and owed him $3,500 from past drug deals.

The two met near the Renaissance Festival grounds the night of the shooting to discuss a shipment of marijuana from California. After being shot, Abdelhakim fled toward the festival's lights. Before eventually regaining his use of speech, Abdelhakim used hand gestures and wrote in the dirt to implicate Carter.

After a brief pursuit, police arrested Carter south of the festival on Highway 169. Authorities later searched Carter's Mankato apartment and found 29 sealed bags of marijuana.

Carter was the Mavericks' leading receiver his senior year and starred for Spring Lake Park in high school.

His father, Dennis Sr., played for the University of Minnesota in the 1980s.

Stephen Montemayor • 952-746-3282