Restaurateur Bobby Salazar, operator of Bobby Salazar’s, was arrested Tuesday morning by federal agents.

The arrest occurred at 10:50 a.m., and he is currently on a federal marshal hold in Fresno County Jail, booking records show.

DOJ Announces Charges

Salazar, 63, has been charged with hiring a motorcycle gang member to set fire to one of his underperforming restaurants, federal prosecutors announced.

According to a federal complaint, Salazar directed the president of the local Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club, Thomas Qualls, 39, of Sanger, to ignite a blaze at the vacant restaurant on 2839 North Blackstone Avenue on April 2, 2024.

Investigators found partially burned gas cans inside the building and extensive fire damage to the interior, concluding the fire was deliberately set.

Salazar reportedly filed an insurance claim falsely denying any involvement in the fire and was paid at least $980,739.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fresno Fire Department, with assistance from the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Veneman-Hughes and Brittany M. Gunter are prosecuting the case.

Salazar is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Fresno.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years for commercial arson, plus a consecutive 10-year sentence for arson in furtherance of a felony.

Though related, Bobby Salazar is not involved with Sal’s Mexican Restaurants, which is co-owned by siblings Karl Salazar and Lorraine Salazar.

Read the Criminal Complaint

You can read the criminal complaint at this link here. 

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Lawsuit Filed After 2021 Firebombings

Fresno attorney Brian Whelan said in 2021 that a lawsuit against Salazar was connected to multiple arson incidents, including a June 22, 2021, attack that destroyed three cars belonging to a former employee’s family.

Hilda Lopez, a former worker at Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria on Olive Avenue, alleged in a lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated and discriminated against because of her pregnancy. Nine hours after Salazar was served with the lawsuit, the vehicles outside Lopez’s family home were set on fire, Whelan said.

Whelan said similar incidents occurred in 2020, including the firebombing of a witness’s car in another wrongful termination case and an attempted firebombing of his law office. A Fresno Fire Department official confirmed at the time that the incidents were under investigation but declined further comment.

Salazar Closed Clovis Restaurant in May

Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria at the northeast corner of Fowler and Herndon avenues closed earlier this year. A notice on the restaurant doors indicated that rent had gone unpaid and “the landlord believes that you have abandoned the property.”

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