Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Arrested on Federal Charges of Arson

FRESNO, Calif.-Robert “Bobby” Salazar, 63, the proprietor of Bobby Salazar’s Taquerias, was taken into custody by federal agents on Tuesday morning and is being held on a federal marshal’s warrant in Fresno County Jail.

The arrest occurred at approximately 10:50 a.m. at Salazar’s residence, according to booking records. A U.S. Department of Justice press release states that Salazar is charged with directing a motorcycle gang member to set fire to his underperforming restaurant on Blackstone Avenue on April 2, 2024. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fresno Fire Department determined the blaze was caused by arson after discovering partially burned gas cans inside the building.

Court documents allege that Salazar enlisted Thomas Qualls, president of the Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club, to carry out the attack and then fraudulently claimed an insurance payout of more than $980,000. If convicted, Salazar faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison for commercial arson, plus an additional mandatory 10 years for arson in furtherance of a felony.

Salazar is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on August 27, 2025, at 2 p.m. in federal court in Fresno. No formal indictment has yet been unsealed, and additional details of the investigation remain under seal.