Review hearing set in extradition case

Published 1:20 pm Friday, June 12, 2026

PORT ANGELES — A man wanted on two counts of first-degree murder in a North Carolina cold case will have another hearing this month in Clallam County Superior Court.

Johnny Steven Talbert, 43, appeared Friday before Judge Simon Barnhart, who set an extradition review hearing for 9 a.m. June 24.

Talbert is the prime suspect in the June 13, 2008, murders of Donna Barnhardt, 59, and Darrell Noles, 44, according to court records.

The shootings occurred during a robbery at the Sun Drop bottling plant in Concord, N.C., about 25 miles north of Charlotte.

Talbert also has been charged with first-degree robbery with a dangerous weapon in Cabarrus County, N.C.

Following a warrant and an extradition request, Talbert, a transient, was arrested May 21 by Port Angeles police officers and has been held without bail since then at the Clallam County Jail. Judge Elizabeth Stanley signed an order to hold Talbert for 30 days during his first court appearance on May 22.

Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tracey Lassus said Friday that a governor’s warrant from North Carolina is expected by the end of this week, and it will be reviewed by Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office before extradition can take place.

“There’s two ways extradition can work,” Lassus said. “They can be picked up on a warrant and either waive extradition, and we arrange with the receiving state for them to make arrangements with (U.S.) Marshals for law enforcement to pick them up and take them back.

“If they decline to waive or for other reasons waive (extradition), the prosecutor’s office in the state that has issued the warrant sends a request of requisition to the governor’s office,” she said.

The requisition packet must include copies of the charges and demonstrate probable cause.

Washington state law also allows for time to apply for a habeas corpus hearing, which would allow a judge to examine the accuracy of the paperwork and to confirm the identity of the person prior to extradition.

A typical timeframe is 30 days, but an extension can be filed for up to 120 days, depending on the type of charge, Lassus said.

Extraditions are fairly common, she added. Lassus, who has worked in the Clallam County prosecuting attorney’s office for 22 years — the last two of which have involved extraditions — said she currently has cases involving charges in Oregon, Idaho, Texas and Virginia in addition to North Carolina. Talbert’s case is the first with murder charges.

North Carolina prosecutors believe Talbert spent just a few minutes inside the Sun Drop plant, stole cash from the office, threw it in a box and took off running after he shot and killed Barnhardt and Noles.

Barnhardt was the office manager who had worked for the company for 18 years. Noles was a leader of his church choir who was applying for a job at the plant, according to published reports.

The warrant for Talbert’s arrest stated $9,905.42 was taken from the scene.

A police sketch was released shortly after the incident. A cash reward was offered and eventually increased to $85,000. In May 2009, the case was featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted, but no arrests had been made.

Talbert was among those who had been contacted by Concord police following the crime, but he left North Carolina shortly thereafter, according to Port Angeles Police Det. Sgt. Joshua Powless.

Meanwhile, Port Angeles police records indicate officers made contact with Talbert 288 times since November 2011. Fourteen of those contacts led to arrests, and two were for felonies, Powless said.

But police in Port Angeles did not know he was being investigated in North Carolina until a Concord detective made contact with them on Dec. 19, 2025.

A break in the case came late last year, Concord police stated in a news release last month.

“Through a meticulous reexamination of evidence and the pursuit of previously undeveloped leads, detectives uncovered critical information that ultimately led to Talbert’s arrest,” according to the news release.

The city didn’t specify the connection and said it wouldn’t release additional information because the investigation remains active.

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Editor Brian McLean can be reached by email at brian.mclean@peninsuladailynews.com.