Man Accused of Biting Off Penis Kills Self

A San Clemente man in jail on suspicion of biting off the penis of a 48-year-old man committed suicide by cutting his neck, arms and penis with a razor blade and bleeding to death, authorities said Tuesday.

About 11:30 p.m. Monday, sheriff’s deputies found Steven Dale Halsey, 25, in a pool of blood on the floor of his cell at the Robert Presley Detention Center, Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Lohman said.

He had lacerations on both forearms, a large gash on his neck and deep cuts on his penis, Lohman said. Halsey was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after midnight Tuesday, deputies said.

An inmate in the cell next to Halsey’s heard a loud thump late Monday and believed the man might be hurt, Lohman said. The inmate summoned deputies, who found Halsey.

A razor blade apparently pried from a plastic disposable razor was found nearby, along with a suicide note, Lohman said. Authorities did not reveal the contents of the note.

Halsey had been admitted to Riverside General Hospital on March 2 after a car accident that left him with major head injuries. There, apparently under the influence of PCP, he attacked another patient, Manuel Alcarez of Coachella, police said.

Halsey allegedly jumped on Alcarez’s bed and ripped out his intravenous needles and tubes before sinking his teeth into the man’s penis, Riverside police said. When Riverside sheriff’s deputies and police officers tried to restrain Halsey, he fought them off, leaving them bruised and bloodied, authorities said.

The officers finally threw a sheet over Halsey and piled on top of him while nurses gave a tranquilizer.

He was awaiting trial on charges of resisting arrest, assault on police officers and aggravated mayhem when he committed suicide, police said.

Alcarez died March 7 from a disease unrelated to the attack, a Riverside coroner’s spokesman said.