Colorado prosecutors are dropping an arson charge in the Alexander Mountain Fire
Prosecutors are moving to drop an arson charge against a man who investigators originally believed started a wildfire that burned nearly 10,000 acres in Northern Colorado two years ago.
The Larimer County District Attorney's Office says there is new evidence showing that Jason Hobby could not have started the Alexander Mountain Fire.
The fire started in July 2024 west of Loveland and destroyed 28 homes.
Hobby is still charged with impersonating a police officer and firefighter.
There's no word so far on what may have actually started the fire.
The DA's Office said the following on Thursday:
As our office and law enforcement have prepared this case for trial, additional investigation was completed that shed new light on the initial circumstantial evidence that led to Mr. Hobby's arrest on the Arson charge and directly contradicts the original theory of the case. This additional evidence indicates Mr. Hobby could not have started the Alexander Mountain Fire.
We join in the significant disappointment of our community that the individual responsible for setting the fire remains unknown, and accountability for their losses has not yet come. Wildfires have been a frequent and traumatic threat to our community, and all resources to determine the identity of the person who started the fire have been expended. Our office has worked closely with the lead detective, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Forest Service to determine if any investigative steps remain for further investigation. At this time, all follow-up investigatory avenues regarding the Arson charge against Mr. Hobby have been exhausted, and the Arson charge cannot proceed due to the newly discovered evidence.
As with most investigations of this scale and complexity, the investigation and review of evidence has continued long after the initial incident occurred. The investigation into the Alexander Mountain Fire is vast, spanning hundreds of witnesses, hundreds of police reports, more than a terabyte of digital evidence, multiple forensic evidence reports, and hundreds of hours of body-worn camera videos. As the investigation continued, evidence emerged that directly contradicted original theories that Jason Hobby had started or maintained the Alexander Mountain Fire.
It would be unethical for a District Attorney's Office to pursue a prosecution in which they did not believe the correct person was charged. In this case, the District Attorney's Office cannot proceed on the Arson charge against Mr. Hobby because evidence related to Mr. Hobby's whereabouts, his potential alibi, access to the fire origin location, and digital evidence from his cell phone all provide direct evidence that he is unlikely to have started the Alexander Mountain Fire.
