The 8th Judicial District filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the arson charge Jason Hobby was facing in relation to the 2024 Alexander Mountain fire, according to officials.
The district attorney’s office announced that new evidence related to Jason Hobby’s whereabouts, his potential alibi, access to the fire’s origin point and digital evidence from his cellphone provide direct evidence that he is “unlikely” to have started the fire, according to an emailed news release.
“As our office and law enforcement have prepared this case for trial, additional investigation was completed that sheds 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,” the news release stated. “This additional evidence indicates Mr. Hobby could not have started the Alexander Mountain fire.”
There have been no other arrests made in relation to the fire, according to a Larimer County sheriff’s emailed statement.
“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,” the news release stated. “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.”
Hobby, 51, was , in connection to the Alexander Mountain fire, which was first reported July 29, 2024, and burned nearly 10,000 acres in Larimer County. In October, based on testimony in a preliminary hearing, Judge Sarah Cure decided there was enough evidence to proceed to trial, which was scheduled in July.
The district attorney’s office announced Thursday that as the team had been prepping for next month’s trial, additional investigation shed new light on evidence that led to Hobby’s initial arrest and directly contradicted original theories that Hobby started or maintained the fire, according to the release.
The district attorney’s office worked with the lead detective on the case, the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Forest Service to determine if any other potential avenues remained connecting Hobby to the arson charge, but the news release stated that all have been exhausted and none remain, clearing Hobby of starting the fire. Additionally, all resources to determine the identity of the person who started the fire have been used, the release stated.
The investigation into the fire has spanned hundreds of witnesses, police reports, body-camera videos and more than a terabyte of digital evidence and forensic evidence reports, according to the release. The district attorney’s office wrote that it would be unethical to pursue a case where it 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 cellphone all provide direct evidence that he is unlikely to have started the Alexander Mountain fire,” the release stated.
Among the burned land were parts of the Sylvan Dale Ranch. Hobby opposed a plan the ranch’s owners had to donate more than 1,000 acres to the Heart-J Center for Experiential Learning. Hobby was the ranch’s security officer until he was terminated in July 2024 after repeated incidents with other staff members and visitors, according to investigative documents.
Investigators found that Hobby in the aftermath, despite having no formal credentials, according to documents in the case.
After being bound over for trial, Hobby pleaded not guilty in district court in Fort Collins in December to two counts of impersonating a peace officer, a class 5 felony; false imprisonment, a class 5 felony; menacing with a real or simulated weapon, a class 5 felony; and impersonating a public servant, a class 2 misdemeanor, according to court records. Hobby continues to face these charges, according to the release, but a first-degree-arson charge will be dismissed.
Hobby is set to appear for a three-week trial on the remaining charges beginning July 6.
