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Suspect Arrested in 2008 Sun Drop Bottling Plant Killings

A fresh review of evidence prompted cooperation with Port Angeles police, producing an arrest that could give victims’ families long‑awaited answers as extradition proceeds.

Overview

  • Johnny Steven Talbert, 43, was arrested in Port Angeles, Washington, and taken into custody on May 21 in connection with the killings at the Sun Drop Bottling Company.
  • Concord police charged Talbert with two counts of first‑degree murder and one count of robbery with a weapon; he is held without bond in Clallam County Jail and is awaiting extradition to North Carolina.
  • Investigators say the arrest followed a late‑2025 reexamination of physical evidence that produced previously undeveloped leads that Concord detectives shared with Port Angeles police and pursued in mid‑May.
  • The victims, Donna Barnhardt, 59, the plant’s longtime office manager, and 44‑year‑old Darrell Noles, were shot and killed inside the Concord facility on June 13, 2008, during what police believe was an armed robbery.
  • Family members thanked investigators for their persistence and police say the investigation remains active as extradition and any future prosecution move forward and charges are tested in court.