A Riverside man who killed his lifelong friend during a drug-fueled confrontation more than five years ago was beaten to death during a fight at the state prison in Tehachapi, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported Tuesday.
Kevin Scott Mansfield, 37, and his cellmate, 29-year-old Joshua Powers, got into an altercation — the nature of which wasn’t disclosed — about 11:20 p.m. Friday, according to correctional Lt. Brian Parriott.
Powers allegedly knocked Mansfield to the floor and beat him as he lay unconscious.
“Staff ordered Powers to stop his assault and used pepper spray when he ignored commands,” Parriott said. “When Powers continued to strike Mansfield, staff made emergency entry into the cell and used batons and physical force to remove Powers from the cell and place him in restraints.”
Paramedics pronounced Mansfield dead at the scene 30 minutes later.
Powers, who underwent treatment for minor injuries to one of his eyes and hands, is serving a 33-year sentence for kidnapping and other charges out of Tuolumne County, prison officials said.
In February 2013, Mansfield pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the slaying of 31-year-old Joshua Michael Sebald, also of Riverside. They had been close friends since middle school, and both had been involved in drug abuse. They committed at least one burglary together.
On the evening of March 27, 2012, Sebald, who was homeless, wandered over to Mansfield’s family residence in the 5900 block of Birch Street, where the defendant resided in a garage converted into an apartment.
Mansfield offered the victim a place to stay, but as the defendant was injecting methamphetamine, he turned aggressive toward Sebald and used a rectractable utility knife to slash the victim twice in the neck — so deeply that he nearly decapitated him, according to prosecutors.
Sebald died moments later, and Mansfield walked off aimlessly into the night. His mother called 911, and he was located and arrested about 20 minutes later by Riverside police officers.
Though he admitted the murder charge, Mansfield insisted that he was not in control of himself and didn’t realize what he was doing when he killed his friend.
–City News Service