Accomack County, Va. – Convicted Eastern Shore arsonist Tonya Bundick entered an Alford Plea on all 61 of her remaining charges in Accomack County Circuit Court on Monday.
She will now serve a total of 17.5 years in prison.
An Alford Plea means while she was not admitting guilt, she did believe there was enough evidence to convict her.
In July of 2014, Bundick entered a plea of not guilty to 62 counts of arson. However, due to a ruling from Judge Glen Tyler, she was scheduled to go on trial one count at a time.
Judge Tyler first sentenced Bundick back in September 2014 for one of those 62 counts of arson. That was for a fire that occurred in March 2013 in Accomack County.
A jury found Bundick guilty on that count and recommended a sentence of 3.5 years and a $10,000 fine. Judge Tyler imposed that sentence and added $30,000 in restitution.
The judge then sentenced Bundick for charges of arson and conspiracy to commit arson for an April 2013 fire in Melfa. Bundick had entered Alford Pleas on those charges during a January 2014 trial in Virginia Beach. Prior to that trial, Bundick had entered a motion to withdraw those Alford Pleas, but it was denied.
For those charges, she was sentenced to seven years for each charge. Those sentences will be served concurrently, however.
Tonya Bundick and her former fiancée Charlie Smith were arrested on April 1, 2013.
Virginia State Police said they were responsible for the majority of more than 70 arsons targeting unoccupied structures that had occurred in Accomack County between November 2012 and April 2013.
Charlie Smith entered a plea of guilty to 68 charges of arson and conspiracy to commit arson in October 2013 but has not yet been sentenced.
He confessed his role in the fires to investigators following his arrest in April 2013, however Bundick has maintained she knew nothing about them.
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