Man applying for job at bottling company shot dead along with office manager bound for vacation: Police

Cops successful North Carolina accidental they solved a treble execution astatine a bottling institution astir 2 decades aft it occurred successful a lawsuit known arsenic the "Sun Drop Murders."

Johnny Steven Talbert, present 43, is facing 2 counts of first-degree execution and 1 number of equipped robbery successful the deaths of 59-year-old Donna Barnhardt and 44-year-old Darrell Noles, the Concord Police Department said successful a Facebook post.

It was astir 10 a.m. connected June 13, 2008, erstwhile a antheral burst into the Sun Drop Bottling Company, located astatine 360 Old-Salisbury Concord Road successful Concord, which is immoderate 25 miles northwest of Charlotte, and opened fire.

Officers rushed to the scene, wherever they recovered Barnhardt and Noles suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dormant astatine the scene. Barnhardt was a longtime bureau manager portion Noles conscionable happened to beryllium determination applying for a job.

Detectives believed the fishy changeable and killed the victims earlier stealing wealth from the beforehand bureau and moving away. Despite receiving hundreds of tips implicit the years, cops were incapable to lick the case. Investigators continued to taxable grounds to the laboratory arsenic exertion advanced.

"A interruption came successful precocious 2025," cops wrote. "Through a meticulous reexamination of grounds and the pursuit of antecedently undeveloped leads, detectives uncovered captious accusation that yet led to Talbert's arrest."

Cops learned that Talbert had since moved crossed the state to Port Angeles, Washington, astir 80 miles northwest of Seattle. Detectives traveled to Port Angeles and arrested Talbert connected Thursday. He's successful jailhouse awaiting extradition backmost to the Tar Heel State.

The Charlotte Observer reports that Barnhardt was the bureau manager astatine the family-owned institution for astir 2 decades. On the time of her murder, the grandma was acceptable to permission enactment aboriginal to statesman a household vacation.

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Matt Huneycutt, Noles' erstwhile neighbour who went to schoolhouse with the victim's kids, posted connected the Concord Police Facebook station announcing the arrest. He described Noles arsenic a "mountain of a man."

"Hell of a softball player, antheral of God, honorable and tough," Huneycutt wrote. "Physically and metaphorically helium was a elephantine to america boys. You couldn't find a little deserving antheral to termination successful acold blood. If this antheral would've asked, Darrell would person fixed him the garment disconnected his back, the wealth successful his wallet and a thrust crossed town."