Man Attacked in Riverside Hospital Dies

A patient who was attacked last week by a hospital roommate at Riverside General died Friday, hospital officials said.

Manual Alcarez, 53, was in a coma when he was attacked Monday by Steven Dale Halsey, 25, of San Clemente, who had been admitted to the hospital because of head injuries when he was thrown from his car during a traffic accident, officials said.

Officials said Halsey ripped out Alcarez’s intravenous needles and then bit off his penis. A field sobriety test by California Highway Patrol officers indicated that Halsey was under the influence of PCP, according to CHP records.

Hospital officials would not say whether the attack contributed to the death of Alcarez, who family members said had emigrated from Mexicali, Mexico, to work as a farm laborer before he fell ill.

About seven hours after being admitted to the hospital, Halsey left his bed and attacked Alcarez, officials said.

A struggle ensued, and Halsey fought off hospital orderlies and two Riverside sheriff’s deputies assigned to the hospital jail ward. Six to eight Riverside police officers joined in the fight and finally subdued Halsey by throwing a sheet over him while nurses gave him a tranquilizer.

Alcarez, who was already in critical condition before the attack, underwent reconstructive surgery. Hospital officials would not comment on his condition after the operation.

Halsey will likely face charges of resisting arrest, assault on police officers and aggravated mayhem--the charge for severing or rending body tissue, police said.