Carlisle man charged with assault, strangling
Steger, 27, denied bail due to ‘multiple open serious cases’
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A Carlisle man was denied bail after he was accused of biting and strangling an Altoona woman.
Altoona police were called about 8:42 a.m. Thursday to the Dollar General at 1230 14th Ave. where a bleeding woman entered the building and said someone was trying to kill her.
The victim told police she was not stabbed, but bitten two times by her boyfriend, "SOSA," identified as Samuel Robert Steger, 27, at her residence on the 1500 block of 13th Street.
Police said the victim had two fresh bleeding bite marks on her right bicep and another in the upper area of her back. In addition, she had fresh red strangulation marks around her neck and her voice was very raspy to the point that she could hardly speak, police reported.
Due to the gravity of the victim's strangulation injuries, police found it extremely hard to understand what she was saying, court documents state.
The victim was taken by AMED to UPMC Altoona for treatment of her injuries.
During an interview at the hospital, the victim told police Steger was sleeping at her apartment when he woke up and began yelling at her. Steger became more irate with her and began striking her several times in her face and body, and when she attempted to run out of the apartment, he held the front door shut, grabbed her by the hair and began slamming her forehead into the door. The victim said Steger then grabbed her throat with both hands and began to squeeze, making it very difficult to breathe. While he was strangling her, the victim told police he asked her if she wanted to say goodbye, which she thought meant he was going to kill her. After he released her neck, he began biting her, she told police.
The victim was able to escape the residence when she asked Steger to get her a glass of water and he went into the kitchen, police reported.
Police found Steger at the victim's apartment, along with a plastic mirror containing an unknown white powder, a credit card laying on top of the powder and a plastic straw laying beside the mirror. A NIK test type "U" tested positive for methamphetamine, police reported.
In addition, police found two large clumps of hair on the floor, just inside the front door, and a blood smear on the interior wall by the door.
When police asked Steger if he went by the name SOSA, he said he did not. Police found and took into evidence a drawing tablet on a desk in the bedroom with a drawing in pencil spelling out "$O$O."
Steger was arraigned Thursday afternoon before Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on a felony charge of strangulation along with misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, false imprisonment, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia and a summary charge of harassment.
Bail was denied because Steger has "multiple open serious cases," is a threat to the community and is a flight risk, court documents state. He was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 2 before Jones.
According to court documents, Steger faces simple assault and harassment charges in Bedford County. Those charges stem from an April 27 incident and were bound over for court in May. He was released from the Bedford County Correctional Facility on $40,000 unsecured bail on Sept. 13.
In Cambria County, Steger faces charges of simple assault, terroristic threats, harassment and strangulation in a Jan. 1 case. Those charges were waived for court. He was released Jan. 11 on unsecured $75,000 bail. On March 29, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. That case currently is listed as inactive in the court system.