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Charles Smith Pleads Guilty in Accomack Arson Fires

Virginia State Police

ACCOMAC, Va. (AP) - A former volunteer firefighter charged in a string of arsons on the Eastern Shore has pleaded guilty to 68 counts.

Media outlets report that 40-year-old Charles Smith III pleaded guilty to 67 counts of arson and one count of conspiracy to commit arson Thursday morning in Accomack County Circuit Court. He will be sentenced in December.

Smith and his fiancé, Tonya Bundick, were accused of setting fire to abandoned structures between November 2012 and April of this year. They were arrested April 2.

Bundick is charged with one count of arson and one count of conspiracy.

In court documents, Smith told investigators he torched 52 unoccupied buildings and Bundick set fire to 15. 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.