The Sheriff’s Department has identified the victim of an armed standoff in Yucca Valley Friday as a man who was wanted on two charges of child molestation. About 12:17 p.m. Friday, deputies tried to serve an arrest warrant on Steven Perry, 65, at Highway 62 and 247. Perry was a suspect involved in a child molestation investigation from July 2019 and March 2020. Perry fled and a pursuit ensued, but Perry eluded deputies. About 12:34, deputies received a call that Perry was at a home in the 300 block of Fortuna Avenue and was firing a rifle inside the home. As deputies arrived, Perry began firing at them in their vehicles. Deputies returned fire, and Perry barricaded himself inside the home. A woman and five children in the house were able to safely escape out the rear of the house, and deputies escorted them to a safe location. They were not harmed.
Deputies on the ground and in a Sheriff’s helicopter began broadcasting announcements for Perry to surrender to deputies. When he failed to comply, deputies from the Specialized Enforcement Division SWAT unit responded. A crisis negotiator also tried to convince Perry to leave the home and surrender. Over the next several hours, Perry would appear in the windows and doors of the house, but refused to leave. About 7:45 p.m., deputies used an armored vehicle to break open windows and doors, and a robot entered the home. Steven Perry was found deceased inside the home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound; a rifle was found nearby.
