California restaurant owner and salsa maker hired gang member to start fire, DOJ says

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Bobby Salazar, the owner of the “Bobby Salazar’s” restaurants located in California, has been accused by federal prosecutors of hiring a gang member to set fire to one of his restaurants in Fresno.

According to the federal Department of Justice, Salazar hired the president of the local Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club to start a fire at a Bobby Salazar’s location in 2024, and then claimed the loss on the insurance.

Bobby Salazar’s lists six restaurant locations around Central California on its website. The name may be familiar to those outside the area thanks to a line of salsas by the same name sold in Walmart, WinCo, Safeway and other grocery stores in nine states.

U.S. Attorney Eric Grant says 63-year-old Salazar was arrested on a federal complaint for arson of a commercial property and arson in furtherance of a felony for directing a motorcycle gang member to set fire to an underperforming restaurant property.

According to court documents, on April 2, 2024, a fire broke out at the vacant Bobby Salazar’s restaurant on Blackstone Avenue. Fire investigators say they 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 later 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.

Grant says Salazar was ultimately paid out at least $980,739 for his insurance claim.

Salazar is expected to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Fresno.

If convicted, Grant says 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 mandatorily consecutive for arson in furtherance of a felony.