HUNTINGTON, W. Va. -- Two soldiers charged in the death of a former Columbus, Ohio, minister were returned Thursday to West Virginia, jail records showed.

Authorities captured Daniel Smith, 22, and Stephen Wilson, 19, last week in Columbus. The two men waived extradition on Wednesday and were booked into jail in Barboursville, W.Va., on Thursday.

The Army has decided to delay its desertion investigation into the two infantrymen, giving West Virginia authorities first shot at prosecuting Smith and Wilson, Wayne County Sheriff David Pennington said.

Smith of Newport News, Va., and Wilson, from Cincinnati, are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the Rev. Mark McCalla at a West Virginia state park shooting range on June 19.

Smith and Wilson had told a friend they were staying with in the Huntington, W.Va., area that they killed McCalla, criminal complaints said.

McCalla, who was working as a minister in Huntington, died from a single gunshot wound to the head. His wallet and two firearms were missing, Pennington said.

"I think they had in mind to rob somebody that morning," Pennington said of the two suspects. "Whoever was over there was going to get robbed."

Smith and Wilson, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., with the 10th Mountain Division, went absent without leave in early May, Army officials said. The Army usually court-martials soldiers who have been AWOL for more than 30 days, Fort Drum spokesman Capt. Fredrick Harrell said.