FRESNO - Fresno restaurant operator Robert “Bobby” Salazar, 63, has been arrested on a federal complaint for arson of commercial property and arson in furtherance of a felony for directing a motorcycle gang member to set fire to an underperforming restaurant property, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, on April 2, 2024, a fire broke out at the vacant Bobby Salazar’s restaurant on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno. Fire investigators determined that the cause of the fire was arson, with partially burned gas cans located inside the restaurant and extensive fire damage to the interior:
According to court documents, agents learned that the person who set the fire was the president of the local Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club. Salazar allegedly hired the motorcycle gang member to start the fire and then claimed to his insurance company that he had nothing to do with the arson. He was ultimately paid out at least $980,739 for his insurance claim.
With this arrest, Salazar is also facing multiple charges if investigators can tie him to a series of auto fires and witness intimidation accusations. 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 torched three cars belonging to a former employee’s family.
A female employee who formerly worked at Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria on Olive Avenue alleged in a lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated and discriminated against because of a pregnancy. Nine hours after Salazar was served with the lawsuit, the vehicles outside the employee’s family home were fire bombed, Whelan said.
Whelan alleged similar fires also occurred in 2020, including the firebombing of a witness’s car in another wrongful termination case and an attempted firebombing of his own law office. A Fresno Fire Department official confirmed at the time that the incidents were under investigation but declined further comment. Salazar’s attorney denied all allegations back in 2021.
Along with the Blackstone location, Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria at the northeast corner of Fowler and Herndon avenues closed earlier this year. According to media reports, a notice on the restaurant doors indicated that rent had gone unpaid and “the landlord believes that you have abandoned the property.”
Salazar is expected to make an initial court appearance on August 27, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe in Fresno at 2:00 P.M.
If convicted, Salazar faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for commercial arson, as well as 10 years in prison, which must be served consecutively, for arson in furtherance of a felony. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account several variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is not Salazar’s first experience with a felony arrest, jail, or a court appearance. In 1997, Salazar was convicted via a no-contest plea of fraudulently filing an insurance claim after conspiring with an associate to have his car stolen from Selland Arena. Salazar’s associate operated a supposed “chop shop” containing additional stolen vehicles.
Though related as siblings, Bobby Salazar is not involved with Sal’s Mexican Restaurant in Selma, Madera, and Fresno, which is co-owned by Karl Salazar and Lorraine Salazar. However, Henry Salazar and his brother are believed to have been partners in a restaurant in Kingsburg that closed last year.