A felon with a gun was arrested at the Hi-Desert Medical Center early Tuesday morning.
At approximately 1:23 a.m. deputies from the Morongo Basin Station responded to a call regarding a man with a gun at Hi-Desert Medical Center. Hospital staff reported a white male pacing in front of the building while holding a shotgun, causing the hospital to close their doors and shelter in place.
Deputies say they saw the suspect identified by deputies as Austen Burke, a 27 year-old resident of Yucca Valley and a convicted felon standing in front of the hospital lobby with a shotgun in his hand and a handgun in his pocket. Deputies arrived on the scene and say they gave Burke commands to drop the firearms, then approached him and took him into custody without incident.
Burke pled guilty in 2021, 2022, and 2024 to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Austen Burke was charged under PC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm and is being held at the West Valley Detention center on 30k bail.
