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The infamous Accomack County arsonist, who kept local folks glued to their scanners in late 2012 and early 2013 to hear 911 dispatchers send firefighters and police officers to the next inferno, was reportedly released from prison Tuesday.
Forty-eight-year-old Charles Robert Smith III, also known as Charlie Applegate, admitted to deliberately setting 67 buildings on fire. He also testified against his former fiancée, 50-year-old Tonya Susan Bundick, in connection with the blazes.
WATCH: Eastern Shore arsonist Tonya Bundick to serve 10.5 years
The spree frightened many Eastern Shore residents. Smith was a former volunteer firefighter and owned a Tasley auto body shop.
The couple were stopped fleeing from a crime scene in Melfa. All the fires that occurred during that period caused about $2 million in damages. No one was injured. Smith’s Facebook page stated that he would be released to a halfway house in Roanoke. He has been serving time in the Wise Correctional Unit in Coeburn, which is in western Virginia.
Bundick’s release date is in September 2025.
A documentary on the spree is currently being made on the Eastern Shore with an all-Eastern Shore volunteer cast.
