By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer
Monday, October 11, 2010
TAMPA — A man facing a foreclosure auction this month started a fire in the house Sunday night, deputies said.
Firefighters and deputies responded to a call of a house fire around 11:45 p.m. at 15804 Deep Creek Lane, north of Tampa.
There, they found Gregory Kovach, 38, who told deputies the house was his and had been in foreclosure proceedings.
Investigators said he had gone by the house to pick up belongings. But once inside, he set fire to papers on the kitchen counter and clothes in a bedroom closet, using a cigarette lighter.
The house — a 1,380-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home built in 1979 — was a total loss, said Ray Yeakley, a spokesman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Kovach and his wife, Cynthia, bought the house in 2004 for $144,900, according to county property records.
Kovach, who lists 1800 Kettler Drive in Lutz as his address, was charged with arson. He was being held in a Hillsborough County jail without bail.
According to court documents, Kovach and his wife owed more than $220,000 on the house. It was to go on the auction block next week.
Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Shelley Rossetter can be reached at srossetter@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3374.