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Woman charged in Accomack arson case makes bond

Posted at 4:29 PM, Sep 23, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-24 00:26:53-04

Accomack County, Va. - Tonya Bundick is out of jail and her neighbors aren't happy about it.

"I think they should keep her in there. I think she's just as guilty as he may be," says Ruby Nicholson, who lives next door.

Bundick is charged with arson. Burning abandoned buildings plagued the Eastern Shore from fall to spring.

Starting in November, the first one hit.

Then in April, Bundick was arrested with her boyfriend, Charles Smith, near a fire on Airport Road in Melfa.

Last month, her bond was set at 30,000 and she remained in Accomack County jail for weeks.

Today, she got out and now the 39-year-old is free to head back to her Parksley home, the town that took the bulk of the fires.

"Disgusted with her and don't know what she might do," Nicholson said.

Lois Gomez isn't just a neighbor Bundick rubbed the wrong way, she's also an arson victim.

Back in December, she woke up to her shed on fire. Her husband has since rebuilt most of it, but the thought of having the woman she believes is responsible for the arson living just a door down, doesn't sit right with her.

"Well she did the crime, she should do the time," Gomez said.

Court documents show Bundick's fiance, Charles Smith, confessed to setting most of the arsons.

Smith is still locked up.

Bundick wasn't home when NewsChannel 3 stopped by. Her neighbors aren't sure whether she'll be staying there or somewhere else.

Bundick may be out on bond, but she's far from a free woman.

She has to stay in Accomack or Northampton County except if it's to care for her son's medical needs.

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