Colorado man pleads not guilty to arson, impersonating police officer and firefighter in Alexander Mountain Fire
The 50-year-old Colorado man charged with starting last summer's destructive Alexander Mountain Fire has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include arson and impersonating a police officer.
Jason Alexander Hobby was arrested in September 2024 after the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said he told members of the public he was a police officer and a firefighter, despite not having any certifications in either profession, while driving an SUV made to appear like a law enforcement and fire vehicles, and allegedly pointing a gun at someone.
Hobby pleaded not guilty to all charges on Wednesday, and his case was set for trial, which is set to start on July 6. He's been formally charged with first-degree arson of an occupied structure, two counts of impersonating a peace officer, menacing with a weapon, false imprisonment, and impersonating a public servant. All but the last charge are felonies.
"It looks like what our fire department would use for a wildland fire. It was a 4-wheel drive pickup truck, striping on it, there are emblems on it that read 'Twin Buttes Fire Protection District' and from our research and our investigation, we cannot identify a Twin Buttes Fire Department anywhere," Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said last year.
"He had fire gear that also had those emblems on it. It had hose reels, it had drip cans, it was hard to tell," Feyen continued. "He was able to pass through, inappropriately, roadblocks to get to the fire scene."
The Alexander Mountain Fire burned almost 10,000 acres in Larimer County over the summer of last year. It started on July 29 and wound up destroying 29 homes, damaging four others and destroying 21 other structures. The damage the wildfire caused is estimated at more than $30 million.
Jason Alexander Hobby was booked into the Larimer County Jail last year and released on a $450,000 cash or surety bond, court records show.
Jason Alexander Hobby worked at Sylvan Dale Ranch in Loveland. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says Hobby has an extensive criminal record in California.
The next hearing is a status conference set for Jan. 27 at 1:30 p.m.