It’s a case where an insurance agency needs insurance. A Florida man drove his Toyota over to the Univista agency in Lake Wales, Florida, and attacked it with a gun and Molotov cocktails just because the rival agency moved in too close to the competition. 

A Florida man drove his Toyota to a rival insurance office and attacked it with Molotov cocktails

Police in Lake Wales, Florida, tracked down one Jason Roberts last week. No, he wasn’t a serial parking violation offender or delinquent on child support payments. He was a person of interest in an insurance agency-on-agency case of arson.

Roberts allegedly attacked an insurance agency’s office with a firearm and Molotov cocktails last year. But it took police over a year to track the arsonist down in Georgia and take him into custody.

The details on the damage aren’t clear. However, Molotov cocktails spread flammable liquid, igniting as they do. It’s a crude, albeit effective way to cause serious damage or completely burn a building down.  

According to the Lake Wales Police Department, officers tracked Roberts down after referring to surveillance footage from a local strip mall. The footage showed a Toyota near Univista Insurance, a business in the mall.

After checking the Toyota’s registration, the vehicle belonged to a local laboratory testing company. And you guessed it, Roberts worked there. In fact, he worked there as a courier, meaning he likely would have had access to the car.

So, why would Roberts attack the Univista office? He is reportedly a sibling to a woman who works at Univista’s competition in the shopping center. Roberts, along with the owner of the first insurance agency, was irritated that a rival agency had moved into the same shopping area, per Insurance Journal. So, naturally, he attacked it with incendiary devices.

That said, a licensed property insurance agent manages the Univista location. If anyone is going to be insured against the wild and unthinkable, it would be him.