Unregistered sex offender wanted in two states arrested in Morongo Valley

An unregistered sex offender wanted in two states was arrested in the High Desert on Wednesday.

The incident that led to the arrest started at around 2:00 p.m. Deputies conducted a traffic stop in downtown Joshua Tree.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dept. revealed that from that traffic stop, deputies developed leads that revealed a wanted subject was hiding from authorities at a property in the 48500 block of Bird of Paradise Road in Morongo Valley.

The suspect was identified as Stephen Andrew August, 34, originally from Woodland, Washington.

August was wanted in Clark County in the State of Washington and Jackson County in Oregon for multiple offenses, including; failing to register as a sex offender, assault on law enforcement, and escape.

Detectives authored a warrant to arrest August. The warrant was served at the Morongo Valley property at around 6:00 p.m.

The Sheriff's Dept. added that August armed himself with a knife during the warrant service. He ended up stabbing himself, causing several lacerations to his body.

Members of the Specialized Enforcement Division were able to safely take him into custody without further injury to himself or deputies on scene.

Medics assigned to the Specilized Enforcement Division provided life-saving treatments to August on scene.  He was then transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries and is currently in stable condition, according to the Sheriff's Dept.

August was arrested for his mulitple offenses and is being held with no bail, pending extradition to the State of Washington.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Deputy R. Stucki of the Morongo Basin Station (760) 366-4175.

Callers who want to remain anonymous can call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME(27463), or leave information at the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com