Melrose, FL man arrested on Levy County warrant for sexual battery of three children
In May, 2021, detectives with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into allegations that Mr. Hammond had sexually abused two children under the age of 12 and one child between the ages of 12 to 16, over a period of several years.
During the investigation, detectives gathered evidence to support the statements taken from the victims and applied for an arrest warrant charging Hammond with two counts of capital sexual battery and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a person under the age of 16. On July 6, 2021, Judge James Browning granted the warrant application and assigned a $2.5 million dollar bond to the warrant.
On Aug. 4, 2021, Hammond was located in Melrose, Florida by members of the United States Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested on the Levy County warrant and is being held at the Putnam County Jail in Palatka (Putnam County), Florida, awaiting transfer to the Levy County Detention Bureau in Bronson, Florida.