The suspect arrested in connection to the Alexander Mountain wildfire last summer will appear in court next month for a preliminary hearing regarding a felony arson charge.

Jason Hobby, 50, stood before 8th Judicial District Judge Sarah Cure Tuesday morning, dressed in a full suit and glasses. Hobby and his defense attorneys asked for a preliminary hearing on the arson charge Hobby received from the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in September.

The preliminary hearing, set for July 31, will give prosecution the chance to present evidence and witnesses. If the judge deems the prosecution to have a solid case, it will then be sent to a jury trial.

The defendant has co-counsel in the case, meaning he has more than one defense attorney.

Hobby faces multiple charges in connection to the wildfire that ripped through west Larimer county last year, damaging four homes and destroying 29 homes and 21 outbuildings, according to investigators.

The fire began on July 29 and raged until Aug. 8, growing up to 9,668 acres and causing several evacuations.

Ultimately, the fire took more than 530 local, state and federal personnel and responses from multiple area partners and fire departments to extinguish, with damages reaching around $30 million, according to a previous news release from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

Hobby was arrested on Sept. 10 and officially charged with arson, impersonation of a police officer, menacing, false imprisonment and impersonating a public official.

He’s been out on a $450,000 bond since his arrest.

The defendant was arrested after working at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, where the fire began. Coworkers said he was the only person who could have been in the area when the fire began, according to arrest records.

According to the affidavit, a fire arson investigator determined the origin of the fire came from a makeshift, rock fire pit less than two miles above Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch.

After conducting a search warrant of Hobby’s home on Aug. 7, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office found boots similar to footprints near the scene and numerous pieces of “firefighting gear and items that can start fires,” according to the arrest affidavit.

A gas can was also found near the fire’s origin that matched a can in one of Hobby’s social media posts.

The ranch manager told investigators that Hobby was seen in the area with an unknown person wearing fire-resistant fabric. A second suspect was never arrested in the case.

Another witness told investigators that Hobby played an “integral role” in guiding professional firefighters into the area west of the ranch, according to arrest records.

Investigators also claimed to have found a video of Hobby in a restricted area, saying he “responded to the area to fight the fire, and that the real firefighters were staging outside the fire area.”

Residents and employees at the ranch told investigators he had titled himself the “fire manager” of the location prior to the wildfire.

Hobby agreed to interview with investigators on Aug. 7, following the search warrant, and failed a polygraph test regarding his possible connection to the fire. Polygraph test results are not admissible as evidence during trial.

According to the records, the property owners disciplined Hobby six days before the fire for conducting unauthorized duties as an armed law enforcement officer by wearing a uniform with a “ranger” insignia and driving several cars with a “ranger” star on the door. Staff said Hobby would aggressively confront people entering the property about trespassing.

In the summer of 2022, the affidavit said, the property owner asked Hobby to be a ranch security officer, which is when he began wearing a uniform and driving a personal car with emergency lights on it. His security duties were demoted in July 2024, after he started conducting traffic stops with his personal car.

The property owner also claimed that Hobby had also frequently pulled a gun on other staff members.

The string of incidents weren’t the only time Hobby has gotten in trouble for impersonating security. Hobby had a 2020 case in California for possessing a dangerous weapon and failing to obtain licenses to be a security guard. He had no prior cases in Colorado, though.

One witness believed Hobby started the fire to “insert himself as a hero after his recent disciplinary work,” according to arrest records.

Other witnesses believed that Hobby was unhappy about part of the ranch being donated to a nonprofit organization for veterans called Heart J Center for Experimental Learning program. The part of the property planned to be donated was burned in the fire.

If found guilty, Hobby may face up to 12 years in prison for the felony arson charge. The impersonation of a police officer charge has a 18-month maximum sentence, while the false imprisonment and menacing charges have a maximum of three years.

The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9NEWS, contributed to this report.