Ex-Firefighter, Girlfriend Charged with Va. Arsons

Suspected of setting majority of 70 fires over past five months

A former volunteer firefighter and his girlfriend were arrested Tuesday and are suspected of setting a majority of the 70 arsons that have haunted Virginia's Eastern Shore for five months.

Charles R. Smith III, who went by the alias Charles Applegate when he served as captain of the Tasley Volunteer Fire Department several years ago, and his girlfriend, Tonya S. Bundick, were arrested early Tuesday, shortly after an abandoned residence was set ablaze.