Pendleton Area Fugitive Arrested in the Bay Area

A fugitive who triggered a manhunt at Camp Pendleton when officers tried to arrest him for an alleged violent rape was behind bars in the San Francisco Bay Area today.

Stephen Paul Clark, 45-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested in the Bay Area on Friday in connection with a Dec. 10 rape. Clark was held today on $1.9 million bail in the Martinez Detention Facility in Contra Costa County, a jail spokesperson said.

The alleged victim told authorities she'd met and befriended Clark at a bar, then took her by force to his home, where he allegedly bound, gagged and assaulted her. Clark reportedly was armed with a pistol and knives and threatened to kill the woman during the attack, which occurred in the East Bay city of Oakley.

On Thursday, deputies alerted the California Highway Patrol in Oceanside that they had tracked Clark's cell phone  to the Eliso Creek Rest Area alongside Interstate 5 in Camp Pendleton, CHP public affairs Officer Chris Parent said.

When CHP officers and sheriff's deputies arrived there a short time later, a man later identified as Clark climbed over a fence and ran off onto the grounds of Camp Pendleton. Authorities searched beaches, ravines and military property in the area by ground and air for about eight hours but were unable to find the fugitive, Parent said.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the San Diego region received alerts regarding Clark, who was convicted of sexual assault in Texas about 10 years ago , describing him to be considered dangerous and likely armed.