On Tuesday, July 18th, 2023, at 1:28 pm, Turlock Police investigators near Arco AMPM, 1801 Lander Ave, Turlock, were conducting follow-up in an arson investigation when they made a traffic stop on their suspect.
The suspect, Keith Hobbs, 47, of Turlock, had a $50,000 local felony Ramey warrant for arson. He was suspected of lighting a dumpster on fire the evening of Sunday, July 9th, behind State Farm, 1672 Fulkerth Rd.
At the time, the dumpster fire had threatened a nearby structure which caused an upgraded response, leaving only one fire engine available to cover the city. Luckily, it was later verified that there had been no extension to the structure.
About a week prior, during the early morning hours of Monday, July 3rd, a different dumpster had been lit on fire in the same office complex. That incident actually required an even more upgraded response, leaving no fire engines available to cover the city and only two in Ceres, as the caller had thought that the actual structure was on fire. It’s currently unknown if Hobbs was also responsible for lighting that fire.
Hobbs was able to be taken into custody without incident.
Hobbs was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on his warrant.
