Legal proceedings to bring a Port Angeles man to North Carolina for trial in a 2008 double homicide advanced with a court hearing last Friday.
Johnny Steven Talbert, 43, attended a scheduled extradition review at Clallam County Superior Court, where judges were briefed on progress toward formal transfer.
Officials indicated that North Carolina’s Office of the Governor is finalizing a warrant that will formally request his return to Cabarrus County to stand trial for two killings tied to an armed robbery more than 16 years ago.
Michele Devlin, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney for Clallam County, relayed the update Friday, noting that Deputy Prosecutor Tracey Lassus shared the development during the hearing.
According to Devlin, Lassus stated that North Carolina is nearly ready to issue the Governor’s Warrant, which, once completed, will be forwarded to Washington’s governor’s office for approval.
A follow-up hearing is set for Wednesday, June 24, to assess whether the warrant has been received and accepted.
The Governor’s Warrant serves as the mechanism for interstate extradition when a suspect does not consent to being sent to the requesting state. In this case, Cabarrus County prosecutors recommended the warrant to North Carolina’s governor, who then forwarded it to Washington’s governor requesting enforcement.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols noted in earlier reporting that such warrants typically require one to three months to process.
After Washington formally accepts the warrant, North Carolina law enforcement will coordinate Talbert’s transport from the Clallam County Correction Facility, where he has been held since his arrest without bail.
Talbert was taken into custody on May 21 in the 2300 block of West 18th Street in Port Angeles, following a joint operation by local police and members of the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team.
He is accused in connection with the July 2008 “Sun Drop Murders,” named for the location of the crime—an office within a Sun Drop bottling facility in Concord, North Carolina.
Prosecutors there say Talbert played a central role in an armed robbery that turned fatal, leaving Donna Barnhardt, an office manager, and Darrell Noles, a church choir leader, dead from gunshot wounds. Approximately $10,000 was taken during the incident.
He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery involving a firearm or other lethal weapon.
No further details were provided on potential defense strategy or timelines for trial in North Carolina, pending the warrant’s issuance.