A Morongo Valley man was arrested late Monday night after he harassed and threatened to kill a couple. Sheriff’s deputies say they have been called to a home in the 50400 block of Mecca Road in Morongo Valley 13 times in the past three weeks because John Hammond, 74, has been harassing the residents by stopping utilities to their home, shining a bright light into their home, and threatening them. On September 1, the victims got a restraining order against Hammond, but Hammond entered their property, yelled obscenities at them, and threatened to kill them, all while the victims recorded the incident. On Monday, the victims began moving out of the home and deputies were on the scene to keep the peace. After deputies left, Hammond, who was in front of the victims’ home, allegedly told a friend, in a voice loud enough to be heard by a neighbor, that he was going to kill the woman and kill and eat her animals for dinner. The neighbor called deputies about 7:30 p.m. Monday to return to the home, at which time John Hammond was arrested for investigation of making criminal threats. Hammond was taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs for chest pains, and after he was cleared, he was booked into West Valley Detention Center with his bail set at $50,000.
