A Twentynine Palms man is celebrating his birthday today in jail, following his arrest early Sunday morning aboard the Marine Base. Mark Blake, 31, today, is accused of felony spouse abuse after he pointed a gun at his wife and shot into the ceiling of a home in the 7100 block of Sagebrush Terrace on the Combat Center. According to Sheriff’s Sergeant Mike Barta, deputies were called by military police at the Combat Center about 5 a.m. Sunday for assistance with a call of shots fired on the base. Deputies determined that Blake and his wife had been arguing, and when Blake’s wife locked herself in the laundry room, Barta said Blake kicked down the door, pointed a 9-mm pistol at her, fired it into the ceiling. He then took off in a Jeep Cherokee. Military police heard the argument and tires screeching and managed to stop the Jeep near the naval hospital. Mark Blake was arrested and arraigned in court yesterday on charges of felony spouse abuse, felon in possession of a firearm, and negligent discharge of a firearm, with his bail set at $100,000. He is being held in the Morongo Basin Jail on no-bail warrants for violating his probation for possession of marijuana for sales and transporting a controlled substance.
