Judge Orders Competency Evaluation for Johnny Talbert in 2008 Double Homicide Case

Johnny Steven Talbert, who was arrested in Port Angeles in May on charges stemming from a 2008 North Carolina double homicide, has been ordered to undergo a hospital evaluation after his attorney said she did not believe he could assist in his defense.

An October 13 order in Cabarrus County Superior Court commits Talbert to Central Regional Hospital’s Butner campus for up to 60 days of observation and treatment to determine his capacity to proceed.

Talbert faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon in the killings of Donna Barnhardt and Darrell Noles at the Sun Drop Bottling Company in Concord.

In an October 12 motion, defense attorney Cynthia Everson described a lengthy mental health history spanning multiple states and said Talbert had been found incapable of proceeding on multiple occasions. She did not identify those earlier cases.

“Defendant has been difficult to communicate with and is scattered with his thoughts and words,” Everson wrote.

Everson cited his difficulties communicating with her and her investigative team as reasons she believed he could not assist in his defense at that time.

The court found that Talbert’s capacity to proceed was in question and that a hospital examination would be more appropriate than a local evaluation. The order directs an examination; it does not make a final finding that he lacks capacity to proceed.

The evaluation will address whether Talbert can understand the proceedings, comprehend his situation and assist rationally in his defense. It concerns his present ability to participate in the case, not whether he committed the charged crimes.

The order directs the Cabarrus County sheriff to take Talbert to the hospital and return him when the evaluation is complete. The hospital must provide a written report on his mental health to his attorney and the clerk of Superior Court. The order does not set a date for another hearing.

According to Concord police, Barnhardt, 59, and Noles, 44, were found fatally shot at the bottling company on June 13, 2008. Barnhardt was the longtime office manager; Noles was there to apply for a job.

Concord police said a review of evidence and previously undeveloped leads produced a break in the case in late 2025. Detectives contacted Port Angeles police that December and traveled to Washington in May 2026.

Port Angeles officers arrested Talbert without incident on May 21, the day Concord police obtained his arrest warrant. Detectives with the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team helped locate him.

The Olympic Herald previously reported that Port Angeles police records showed approximately 288 contacts with Talbert dating to November 2011, including 14 arrests. He was subsequently extradited to North Carolina.