Trading Post owner charged with arson.
MILLARD K. IVES- Staff Writer "The Daily Commercial"
WILDWOOD
On a dark day early last year, the Stefanovic family stood in front of their popular tourist attraction on U.S. Highway 301, discussing how a fire the night before had ravaged their business. On Tuesday, the owner of the Cherokee Trading Post was jailed after State Fire Marshal officials said Slavoljub Stefanovic intentionally torched the place to collect insurance money.
Stefanovic, 58, was charged with arson and burning to defraud an insurer. He also was charged with arson resulting in Injury after a firefighter was injured fighting the fire and went to the hospital with chest pains.
Stefanovic posted $5,500 bail the day of his arrest, according to the Sumter County jail.
The Wildwood business is just south of the Florida Turnpike on Highway 301, where the building’s spectrum of colors, American Indian art pieces and souvenirs and various fruit stands attracted an array of motorists. Many of the items were charred in the March 4 (2008) fire, leaving the employees to work outside the store.
In an interview with the Daily Commercial the day after the fire, members of the Eastern Europe immigrant family discussed how the blaze had devastated the building, but didn’t dampen their spirits. “We will rebuild,” said L.J. Stefanovic, as her daughter stood nearby.
Sumter County Fire-Rescue had responded to the fire after a passerby summoned help. The damage to the building was estimated at $24,000. That doesn’t include the inside of the store, which was left with soot and smoke and charred merchandise.
According to an investigation report, the arrest warrant was issued after a debris analysis was conducted by the State Fire Marshal, Bureau of Forensic Fire and Explosion Analysis as well as other information gathered during the 15-month investigation. Sam Venzeio, an official with the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Tampa, said because the investigation is still open he can’t say why they believe Stefanovic set the fire or how — or how much insurance money he was supposed to get. “It was intentional,” he said.
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