A man arrested for allegedly raping a woman in San Marcos during his shift at a doggy day care was found to have tried to commit suicide in his jail cell on Tuesday afternoon, sheriff’s deputies said.
Jason Edward Stey, 27, who had been booked Sunday at the Vista Detention Facility, was rushed to Tri-City Medical Center at about 2 p.m.; he’s now being treated at Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center.
Stey had been expected to be arraigned on rape charges on Wednesday.
Sunday night, deputies said Stey left in the middle of his shift at Dogtopia to rape the victim, an employee at Dab's Central Smoke Shop across the street on San Marcos Boulevard.
Dab's owner, Matthew Schlemon, said surveillance video shows Stey grabbing the woman from behind and punching her at least 15 times. At one point, the woman's pit bull attacked Stey, but he punched the dog too, the San Diego Sheriff's Department said.
Stey was arrested minutes after the assault when the woman grabbed the shop phone and dialed 911.
Stey was fired from Dogtopia immediately after the incident. He left his cellphone and backpack behind when he left in the middle of his shift, his co-worker said.
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According to his manager, Stey had texted her earlier in the day, asking how he could be promoted.
Court records show he has been arrested at least five times before, and the District Attorney's office says Stey served a prison term in 2011 for assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed dirk/dagger.
