Accused arsonist Bobby Salazar denied the federal charges against him in a Fresno court appearance on Thursday.

In addition to the two felony arson counts previously filed against the Fresno restaurateur, Salazar now faces a third charge of having a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which is a felony.

Salazar, 63, denied all charges in his appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe.

Salazar is accused of hiring a motorcycle gang to burn down his Blackstone Avenue taqueria. After the fire, Salazar received nearly $1 million from an insurance company.

McAuliffe was skeptical of the financial statement Salazar presented to the court, but assigned him a federal public defender, Kara Renee Ottervanger, of Fresno, on a provisional basis.

Salazar’s finances will be examined further at a future hearing. If it is determined he has financial means to provide for his own defense, he may be required to reimburse the court.

Salazar’s detention hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday. McAuliffe will preside over the hearing. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11. On the bench will be U.S. Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean.

Several of Salazar’s supporters attending Thursday’s proceedings. A person who worked in one of Salazar’s restaurants told GV Wire, “It is business as usual” at the restaurants.

Salazar, wearing a red jumpsuit labeled PRISONER  on the back, didn’t speak at the hearing.

Prosecutor Robert Veneman-Hughes told the court he expected Salazar to hire his own attorney.

McAuliffe responded, “Do you have a crystal ball?”

New Gun Charge

In an affidavit of the new gun charge filed Thursday, law enforcement found five firearms while serving a search warrant Aug. 26— and subsequent arrest — on Salazar. Three of the firearms were “unlawful.”

“Four firearms, including a privately-manufactured AR pistol (a “ghost gun”) and a pistol with an obliterated serial number were found in the residence of Robert Salazar,” wrote ATF Special Agent Kristin Loeffler.

The search warrant included five locations. At Salazar’s Clovis home, one firearm was found in a bag on a shelf in the master bedroom. Three firearms deemed “unlawful” were allegedly found in a secret closet hidden behind a shelf, along with ammunition, and a 30-round magazine for the pistol.

When asked about the firearms, Salazar’s wife denied knowledge of them. Only she, her mother, and Salazar lived at the residence. The wife gave conflicting answers when asked if there was a firearm in the house, the affidavit said.

“When the firearms were found, she stated that she had no idea they were there, and they were not hers,” the affidavit said.

A loaded Sig Sauer handgun was allegedly discovered in a safe at Salazar’s restaurant Lucy’s Lounge in the Tower District. The gun had been reported stolen.

Suspected Arson at Salazar’s Restaurant

The Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria at 2839 N. Blackstone Avenue (south of Shields Avenue) burned in the early morning hours April 2, 2024. Fire investigators immediately suspected arson, with Salazar paying off a motorcycle gang leader to commit the crime.

After filing a claim, The Hartford insurance company paid out $980,739.

Salazar is accused of arson of commercial property, and arson in furtherance of a federal felony.

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

How Law Enforcement Cracked the Case

While the chain of restaurants carries Salazar’s name, he owns some and franchises others — as in the case of the Blackstone restaurant. The franchise agreement ended Jan. 31, 2024, according to the criminal complaint.

Salazar told his insurance company the unused location served as storage for restaurant equipment.

After the fire, Fresno Fire Department inspectors — with help from a detection canine — detected ignitable liquids, multiple origin points, and two partially burned gas cans.

A check of surveillance video around the neighborhood showed a black SUV driving around the property multiple times the night of the fire. The video showed two people, a man and woman, emerged.

The two allegedly entered the restaurant through the front, and exited from the back. The video showed the male lighting the fire through the doorway. The two then left the scene.

Fresno Fire obtained a search warrant to “geofence” the area — to search cell phone data for a specific time and place. That led investigators to the female — only identified in court documents as “co-conspirator 2.”

Investigators paid the woman a visit at her Fresno home. She matched the person in the video, and in previous run-ins with the law. Investigators also found shoes and a phone case that matched what was captured on video.

The woman admitted being at the scene, but denied lighting the fire. She allegedly revealed that Salazar paid someone to set the fire.

A warrant to search the woman’s phone led to a text conversation with a person identified as “co-conspirator 1,” believed to be motorcycle gang leader Thomas Qualls. Shortly after the fire, the two discussed the fire. In other conversations, the two discussed collecting money from Salazar.

The woman mentioned she “took penitentiary chances” for Qualls. In an April 21 text, Qualls allegedly told the woman that he “didn’t just line up pockets with $2500 that I didn’t have to cut u in on.”

The woman was arrested on May 1, 2024. She continued to have jailhouse phone conversations with Qualls, telling them that investigators were looking into Salazar.

Through the calls, investigators recognized Qualls as president of the Screamin Demons Motorcycle Club. Qualls was arrested May 2, 2024, according to a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office news release, after a warrant was served at the group’s clubhouse in Sanger.

Sheriff’s deputies also seized stolen guns, 2,300 rounds of ammunition, and Nazi and white supremacist materials.

Qualls remains in custody according to jail records. Court records show a state case on firearms charges was dismissed, but a federal case remains.

The federal government charged Qualls in May 2024 initially on firearms charges.

“The government advised of another investigation that is currently taking place making resolving this case not an effective use of judicial economy,” a June 4, 2025 note in the court docket says. Qualls next federal court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 1.

While in custody, Qualls made several phone calls to his wife, and a person identified as the club’s sergeant-at-arms. Qualls told them he believed authorities were investigating Salazar.

“I’m not gonna snitch on no one. Of course that’s gonna cost him,” Qualls allegedly told his wife.

Under Qualls’ direction, the sergeant-at-arms visited Salazar. Investigators recorded a meeting on July 26, 2024 at Salazar’s restaurant in the Tower District. A third unidentified male was also at the meeting.

“These cell phone and jail phone conversations are significant because they indicate that Salazar was a co-conspirator and aider and abettor in their crimes,” ATF Special Agent Kristin Loeffler said in an affidavit.

Agents Interview Salazar

Fire investigators spoke with Salazar on May 10, 2024. He denied knowing Qualls or “co-conspirator 2.”

Cell phone records, obtained through warrants, showed otherwise. It showed Qualls allegedly made several calls to Salazar-affiliated restaurants. There were at least four calls to Salazar’s cell phone. Records showed calls between Salazar and the sergeant-at-arms.

“I believe his denial that he knows co-conspirator 1 is evidence of his responsibility for the arson and is an effort to distance himself from the fire to law enforcement,” Loeffler’s affidavit said.

He also denied any knowledge of previous incidents of “firebombing” former employees’ cars.

Salazar filed a claim with his insurance company the day after the fire, on April 3, 2024.

Salazar’s History of Alleged Firebombings

The affidavit also details allegations of Salazar allegedly firebombing the cars of former employees, who were engaged in a wrongful termination lawsuit with Salazar.

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 also allegedly was involved in a fire at the residence of his ex-brother-in-law, after the man divorced Salazar’s sister in 2020.

The affidavit said this showed Salazar’s “use of fire as a modus operandi and the use of fire to solve business problems,” and the incidents were linked.

Read the Federal Affidavit on Arson Charges