Man Who Set Fire To Hillsborough Home To Stay In Jail: SCPO

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A judge ordered that a Somerville man — who was charged with setting fire to his ex-girlfriend's Hillsborough home while eight people slept inside — will remain in jail, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson announced.

Honorable Peter J. Tober, Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court granted the State’s motion to detain Patrick M. Hammond, 34, of South Richards Avenue in Somerville on Friday, Jan. 4.

He will remain in custody until further order of the court and is not free on pretrial release, Robertson said.

Hammond was charged with first-degree attempted murder, and second-degree aggravated arson in connection with a fire on Dec. 30, 2018 at about 12:40 a.m. on Starview Drive just off Amwell Road in the Flagtown section of Hillsborough. (See Related: Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Setting Fire To Hillsborough Home: SCPO)

Eight people, who were inside the home, were able to escape. However, a family pet cat did not get out in time and reportedly died in the fire.

A police investigation found that Hammond, a former boyfriend of a woman who lived at the home, had reportedly threatened to set fire to a truck at the home.

Hammond had also sent a photo of the house on fire about two minutes after the fire was reported through text to a friend, Hillsborough Police discovered.

Police searched the area and found him at about 1:36 a.m. on foot in the area of East Mountain Road, about three-quarters of a mile from the Starview Drive home, police report.

An investigation of the fire at the home by the Hillsborough Township Police Department along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, and the Somerset County Fire Investigations Unit found that the fire was intentionally set near the outside of the home.

Hammond has been in custody and lodged in the Somerset County Jail since Dec. 30, 2018.

(Image via Somerset County Prosecutor's Office: Patrick M. Hammond, 34, of South Richards Avenue, Somerville)

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