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…