2 charged in slaying of Huntington minister
HUNTINGTON _ Two men described as U.S. Army deserters are being sought in the killing of a West Virginia minister at a firing range, Wayne County Sheriff David Pennington said Friday.
By The Associated Press
HUNTINGTON _ Two men described as U.S. Army deserters are being sought in the killing of a West Virginia minister at a firing range, Wayne County Sheriff David Pennington said Friday.
First-degree murder warrants have been filed against Stephen C. Wilson, 19, and Daniel R. Smith, 22, Pennington said. They are charged in the shooting death of Rev. Mark McCalla, 48.
Smith and Wilson had been stationed at Fort Drum in New York, but the Army has listed them as deserters since May, Pennington said. An Army spokesman did not immediately have a comment.
Wilson is from Cincinnati and Smith is from Newport News, Va.
Authorities found enough evidence to obtain the warrants during a search of a Cabell County home Thursday, Pennington said. He declined to say what local, state and federal authorities found.
Wilson and Smith have been entered in a national criminal database, Pennington said.
"We have no idea where they're at," he said. "They both should be considered armed and dangerous."
McCalla's body was found at the Beech Fork Lake Wildlife Management Area about five miles south of Huntington at a rifle range June 19. His body was discovered about an hour after he served breakfast to a group of volunteers working to improve area housing for low-income residents. The Presbyterian minister had been shot once in the head.
Before coming to Highlawn Presbyterian Church in Huntington, McCalla worked at churches in Columbus, Ohio, and Corry and Franklin, Pa.
