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| Tonya S.Bundick |
The Virginian-Pilot
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ACCOMACK COUNTY
New details about the couple charged in connection with the latest of a string of arsons emerged Wednesday, and one of the suspects, Tonya S. Bundick, shuffled quietly in front of a judge during her first court appearance.
While an arraignment was postponed for her boyfriend and co-defendant, Charles R. Smith III, court documents revealed that the 38-year-old man had confessed to the fire they are accused of setting Monday night in Melfa.
Documents from previous cases further highlighted Smith's lengthy criminal record and a history of drug addiction. Other records confirmed he had served as a firefighter.
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| Charles R. Smith |
Police arrested the pair near the scene of Monday night's fire on Airport Drive and charged them with arson and conspiracy to commit arson, both felonies.
Authorities recovered a gas can, several pairs of boots, men's coveralls and two laptop computers from their home, according to search warrant documents filed in Accomack County Circuit Court.
According to a checklist for bail determination, Smith was an Eastern Shore native and self-employed, painting and repairing cars.
Rosters from the Tasley Volunteer Fire Company, released by Accomack County to The Pilot under the Freedom of Information Act, show Smith served with the Tasley volunteers from 2002 to 2007. Rosters from 2008 to 2011 list a "Charlie Applegate," not Charles Smith. Police said Smith used "Charles Applegate" as an alias.
Smith's criminal history includes 31 felony convictions, according to court documents.
Smith was convicted of breaking and entering and grand larceny in a 1998 case. He and an acquaintance took tools and guns from homes, later selling the stolen goods for money, according to a written statement from Smith. They used the money to buy crack after at least one of the break-ins, he wrote.
A few years earlier, court records show, Smith was convicted of 24 counts of forgery.
Smith admitted in writing to having a drug problem. A magistrate added a note to the bottom of a bail determination checklist: "I hope he can get help for his drug habit."
Smith went through inpatient and outpatient treatment after his forgery convictions, but a 1996 drug test indicated he had been using cocaine, according to court documents.
Around that time, he lived with friends and family and in an apartment provided by his parents. He worked at several businesses but struggled financially, according to a 1996 letter to Accomack County Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Agar from a probation officer.
After Smith and Bundick were arrested, police said they had been living together as boyfriend and girlfriend on Matthews Road in Parksley. Several people who knew the couple said they were engaged.
Bundick held a certified nursing assistant license from 1991 through 2007. Board of Nursing public records make no note of problems.
Court records showed Bundick is unemployed and has two children.
She and Smith were taken into custody without incident early Tuesday when a state trooper and sheriff's deputy stopped their minivan near the Airport Drive fire, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said during a Tuesday news conference.
According to Bundick's arrest warrant, "surveillance units" saw a vehicle drop off an individual at Airport Drive in Melfa. The person set fire to the residence, and a vehicle returned and picked up the person.
That vehicle was stopped, and Bundick was identified as the driver. The passenger, whom police later identified as Smith, gave a statement relating to the additional fires in Accomack County, according to an arrest warrant.
The first suspicious fire was set Nov. 12 in Parksley. Set mostly at night, the fires popped up all over the county - from Painter to Temperanceville to Withams - in subsequent months, sometimes more than one a day. No one was hurt.
Vacant residential and commercial buildings were prime targets in the rural county, which contains more than 600 abandoned structures, police said. The county relies on 600 volunteers and 33 paid full-time fire and paramedic personnel to fight fires.
Police increased patrols and surveillance. Flashing electronic road signs promised a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. State police continue to ask anyone with information to call or text the Accomack County Arson Tip Line at 655-1437.
Pilot writer Margaret Matray contributed to this report.
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2 comments:
I think Bundick was the mastermind of all of this and out for the thrill of it all. She gave the appearance of being still fairly cocky in court yesterday. On the other hand Charles seems remorseful and is cooperating and confessing and admitting drug use.
He seems kind of like a simpleton who did everything she told him to do and he went along willingly because in his mind he had such a "prize" in her. We all know how that can work.
cobraxus
Defend The Innocent_Protect The Weak .
it's important for couples to share similar interests.having a common pastime can add to the longevity of the relationship.
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