Maynard Woman Sentenced in Fatal Drug Case

A Maynard woman will spend up to four years in prison for her part in the drug-related death of a Willmar man.

A Kandiyohi County Judge Monday sentenced 21-year-old Mercedes Carpenter to 48 months at the Women’s Prison in Shakopee for selling fentanyl to a Willmar man who was later found dead of a drug overdose in his bathtub in 2023.

Carpenter entered an Alford plea to a charge of second-degree manslaughter in May, and several other charges were dismissed.

A co-defendant in the case, 28-year-old Mateef Mahaffey Junior of Benson, was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison earlier this summer after being found guilty on six charges in the case.