WAYNE -- Two U.S. Army deserters who were wanted for killing a Huntington minister are back in West Virginia.
Spc. Daniel Smith, 22, of Newport News, Va., and Pfc. Stephen Wilson, 19, of Cincinnati, returned Thursday afternoon. They were arraigned on first-degree murder charges in connection with the shooting death of the Rev. Mark McCalla.
Smith asked for a public defender, while Wilson expressed a desire to hire an attorney, according to Wayne County Sheriff David Pennington.
Both suspects arrived about 3 p.m. at the Western Regional Jail, where they are being held without bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 9.
A state forestry worker found McCalla's body June 19 at the Beech Fork Wildlife Management Area shooting range. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head. His body was dragged about 20 yards.
Criminal complaints charge both men with telling a fellow soldier they had shot and killed McCalla. The same friend allowed the duo to stay with him at a residence in Idle Acres, a subdivision south of Huntington.
Authorities raided the Idle Acres residence last week. They confiscated a car with New York tags, 12 firearms and other items.
When asked if more people could be charged, Pennington said the investigation remains ongoing.
Robbery charges also are a possibility facing the murder suspects. Pennington said that would be a decision for the prosecutor and a future grand jury.
Smith and Wilson were declared absent without leave from Fort Drum in New York in early May. They were removed from the rolls and classified as deserters a month later.
Both suspects were infantrymen with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. Smith served overseas in Iraq. Wilson was never deployed.
Both waived extradition from Ohio on Wednesday. They were captured at a bus station in Columbus, Ohio. Local authorities believe they boarded a bus in Charleston in hopes of finding refuge with a friend in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Local authorities searched to no avail Wednesday for McCalla's wallet in the robbery-turned-homicide. Efforts will resume at another time.
Pennington said authorities are missing the preacher's wallet and three guns -- the weapon that they believed was used to kill McCalla and two firearms belonging to the minister.
Detectives received information that those involved in the killing stole the wallet, took cash and tossed the wallet from a vehicle as they fled the scene.
Recent information discounts an initial belief that McCalla was killed with his own weapon, Pennington said.
The sheriff would neither confirm nor deny that the suspects provided information as to the whereabouts of the missing evidence. Both men were interviewed by local authorities, who traveled to Columbus.
Pennington has said the interviews "didn't hurt our case."
McCalla was ordained July 31, 1994. He became pastor a day later at First Presbyterian Church in Corry, Pa. He moved on to preach at churches in Franklin, Pa., and Columbus, Ohio, before coming to Huntington more than four years ago, according to the Presbyterian Church USA Web site.
7-day Archive
