Got $3,000? Accused Arsonist Still Behind Bars

By Linda Cicoira
www.Eastern Shore Post
Accused arsonist Tonya Susan Bundick has been unable to come up with the cash she needs to get out of Accomack Jail.

About two weeks ago, Judge Glen Tyler of Accomack Circuit Court, set bond at $30,000 for the 40-year-old Hopeton woman. Bonding companies require 10 percent of the post. But
Bundick, who is accused of arson and conspiracy to commit the crime in connection with an April 1 fire in a house on Airport Drive near Melfa, is still behind bars.

Nearly 80 arsons were reported in Accomack from November 2012 to April2013. Bundick’s fiancé, Charles Robert Smith III, also known as Charlie Applegate,38, of Hopeton, confessed to a majorityof the fires. He told police Bundick set 15 unoccupied buildings on fire.

Bond was denied for Smith in Accomack General District Court. His lawyer filed papers to appeal the decision, but a date was never set for a hearing.

Both defendants have been in the county jail for about five months. In May, Tyler denied Bundick’s request for freedom after Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Agar said he intended to
seek up to 70 indictments against her. That didn’t happen when a Grand Jury met in early August. The panel did indict Smith on 67 counts of arson and a count of conspiracy.

Tyler ordered bond arrangements for Bundick be made through a professional bond company. He did not favor a house being put up as collateral and ordered she be prohibited from leaving Accomack or Northampton County unless there is a medical necessity.

Agar argued against bond. He said while “two charges are more appropriate” at this time, “we don’t know how this case may proceed. There is a likelihood of her running … she is very
aware of the circumstances of her codefendant… a major threat of additional charges is over her like a dark cloud.”

Defense lawyer Shannon Dunham, said Bundick is not a flight risk since she is a lifelong resident of the shore.