SCOUT KEY, Fla. – A Monroe County man was arrested after he set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s clothes and deputies also discovered he had a stolen rifle.
Jeffrey Neil Hammond, 47, of Scout Key was charged with grand theft of a firearm, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, and making a bonfire too close to a residence. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was called at approximately 4 p.m. Thursday regarding a disturbance.
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Hammond and the 54-year-old female victim were at the scene when deputies arrived.
A fire, where women’s clothes, cosmetics and other items were burning, was approximately 25 feet from a residential trailer. The victim told deputies that Hammond would not let her get her belongings and then set them on fire.
She also said that Hammond had illegal guns. Hammond admitted that he did own firearms and said they were inside the residence.
Deputies found six rifles and a handgun. One of the rifles, a Weatherby 257 Magnum rifle, was reported stolen out of North Carolina, according to the sheriff’s office.
Hammond initially refused to be handcuffed.
He was eventually taken to jail.
Scout Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys.