Prosecutors say a Randolph County man shot his brother, then another man tried to stop the wounded victim from escaping.

MONTROSE, W.Va. — Two West Virginia men face felony charges after authorities said one of them shot his younger brother multiple times at a home in Randolph County on Feb. 12, and the other helped restrain the wounded man as he tried to get away.

Investigators say the shooting began inside a home on Mule Hollow Road in Montrose at about 9:15 p.m. and left Brett Lee Arbogast, 31, with gunshot wounds to the head, arm and hand. Derek Justin Arbogast, 36, is charged with first-degree attempted murder. Larry Brian Talkington, 63, is charged as a principal in second-degree attempted murder or accessory before the fact. Both men were jailed on $150,000 cash-only bonds, and a magistrate later found probable cause to send the case on for grand jury review.

According to the criminal complaint and later court testimony, Brett Arbogast had just returned to the house he shared with his brother, their sister, his girlfriend and Talkington when the encounter turned violent. Brett Arbogast testified that he handed Derek Arbogast a bag of items, watched him pass it to Talkington, and then noticed what he described as a hard stare. When Brett Arbogast asked what was wrong, he said his brother replied, “You know what,” pulled a .22 caliber revolver from his pocket and fired. Brett Arbogast told the court the first shot hit him between the eyes. He said a second shot also struck his head, and a struggle began as he tried to wrestle away the gun. During that fight, he said, he was shot again in the right hand.

Troopers said Brett Arbogast tried to flee the house after the first rounds were fired, but prosecutors allege Talkington grabbed him and tried to pull him back inside. Early news reports, based on the state police account, said Talkington restrained the wounded man and dragged him back into the residence to stop him from leaving. At a later preliminary hearing, Brett Arbogast testified that Talkington did try to pull him back with both hands but did not fully succeed in dragging him inside. He said he managed to break free and get out the door. After he fell outside, Brett Arbogast testified, Derek Arbogast followed and fired two more shots, one striking his upper left arm and another the back of his head. A cousin then drove Brett Arbogast to meet an ambulance. He was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown for treatment. Reports at the time said he survived and was recovering, though no detailed medical update was released in the court accounts.

Investigators described a fast-moving response on a dark rural road. Trooper H.J. Bonetti wrote that emergency dispatchers sent state police, sheriff’s deputies and Elkins police to the Mule Hollow Road home after a 911 report of shots fired. While heading to the scene, Bonetti encountered a man walking along the roadway. The man raised his hands, dropped to his knees and identified himself as Derek Arbogast, according to the complaint. Bonetti arrested him and reported seeing blood on his face and arms. The complaint says Derek Arbogast told the trooper he “just wanted everything to be over with.” Later, during processing at the Elkins detachment, investigators said Derek Arbogast asked whether his brother was OK. After a trooper answered that Brett had been shot five times, Derek Arbogast allegedly replied, “I thought one would do it. I know it was .22, but being that close I thought one would do it.”

The records and hearing testimony offer a clearer picture of the injuries and the case timeline, but some points remain unsettled. Early police accounts described the shooting as happening largely inside the home, with the victim dragged back into the residence before being shot again. Brett Arbogast’s later testimony added a more detailed sequence, saying the last two shots were fired outside after he got free and fell. That difference may matter as the case moves forward, because prosecutors must show how Talkington’s actions fit into the alleged attempted killing. The hearing record also did not establish a full motive for the attack. Brett Arbogast testified there had been no earlier physical fights with Talkington, though he acknowledged past arguments. He also testified that Talkington, Derek Arbogast and his sister had been awake for about a week smoking meth before the shooting, a claim that appeared in court testimony but had not been outlined in the first police summary.

For Randolph County, the case landed as another violent crime investigation centered on a remote home in a small community outside Elkins. Montrose is a sparsely populated area where law enforcement responses often involve multiple agencies because homes are spread out and medical help can be several miles away. In this case, state police said the victim had to be airlifted roughly 60 miles north to a Morgantown hospital. The allegations also made the case unusually stark even by attempted murder standards. Prosecutors say the victim was first shot at point-blank range near a wood stove, fought for the weapon, tried to escape, and was then fired on again. The state’s initial public description and the later testimony both point to repeated shots, close range and a wounded victim trying to get away. Those details are likely to remain central as prosecutors argue intent and defense lawyers test the accuracy of witness memory under trauma.

The legal path is now moving through lower court screening and toward possible indictment. Derek Arbogast’s preliminary hearing was held on a Monday in late February, and Talkington’s was held that Wednesday. In both matters, probable cause was found, according to The Inter-Mountain’s court coverage, allowing the cases to proceed to the Randolph County grand jury. Derek Arbogast remains charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder. Talkington remains charged with one count described in court coverage as principal in second-degree attempted murder or accessory before the fact. Both men were being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail under the same $150,000 cash-only bond set by Randolph County Magistrate Michael Dyer. No indictment had been reported in the available coverage by March 17, 2026, and no trial date had been announced. The next major milestone is grand jury consideration, where prosecutors will present evidence and ask jurors to decide whether the felony charges should be formally returned.

The most vivid account of the shooting came from Brett Arbogast himself, who appeared in court with a cast on his right hand and visible marks on his head. His testimony gave the hearing room a direct account from the person prosecutors say was nearly killed. Trooper R.S. Musgrave also testified after arriving at the scene and being approached by a cousin who had helped the victim get to emergency responders. Those details helped tie together the movement from the house to the road and then to the ambulance. Still, the case is likely to turn not only on the shocking statements attributed to Derek Arbogast, but also on narrower factual questions: where each shot was fired, whether Talkington actually prevented escape, and what each man intended in the moments after the first shot. Defense attorneys will have room to challenge those details, especially where the first police description and later testimony do not match perfectly.

Talkington and Arbogast remain jailed, and the case is awaiting the next step in Randolph County court. The next public milestone is grand jury action, which will determine whether the attempted murder charges advance to circuit court.