Judge orders Bobby Salazar to hire his own attorney and pay $1M bail in Fresno case
A federal judge on Thursday placed a deadline on the public defender and outstanding bail allowed to Bobby Salazar, the Fresno restaurant owner accused of arson and gun crimes, according to court records.
Salazar, 63, has been represented by a public defender since first appearing in court on Aug. 27. Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean said he has until Sept. 29 to obtain his own attorney and would not be granted a public defender after the deadline.
He also has until that day by the 2 p.m. hearing to pay the $1 million bail set in a previous hearing or be remanded to custody, the judge ordered. An Oct. 9 preliminary examination also awaits Salazar.
The restaurateur has been accused of hiring the president of an outlaw bike gang to set fire to the Bobby Salazar’s Restaurant on Blackstone Avenue north of Princeton Avenue on April 2, 2024 in a scheme to collect an insurance payout of about $1 million.
The 40-year-old biker was arrested the following month and remained in Fresno County Jail as of Friday.
Salazar’s public defender and the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes, have said in prior hearings that they believed Salazar would acquire his own attorney. A judge can require Salazar to pay for the public defender’s time.
Prosecutors have argued Salazar has been dishonest about reporting his finances to authorities, noting he owns a Clovis home in a gated community and a condominium in San Francisco. Veneman-Hughes has said Salazar has an estimated $6 million in property equity.
If found guilty, Salazar faces a minimum of five years in prison and maximum of 20 years for commercial arson. He also faces 10 years in prison for arson in furtherance of a felony, and the gun charge also carries a potential five-year sentence.
Prosecutors have accused Salazar of using arson to settle scores in the past.
He was in 1997 convicted of felony charges after pleading no contest to fraud and possession of stolen property. He was sentenced to a year in prison and 600 hours of community service.
In the complaint on the alleged restaurant arson, prosecutors point to more than one case in which they say Salazar used Molotov cocktails or gasoline to set fire to the cars or buildings of ex-employees or others with whom he had a falling out.
The locations and the salsa business run by Salazar have continued to operate throughout the ordeal.
One franchise owner has publicly distanced her eatery from Salazar, and has considered a name change for her Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue location to avoid any undue backlash.
