The man accused of causing the death of an aspiring rap artist in 2019 requested to represent himself in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Derrick Bernard, 35, is accused of ordering Aeeshawn Mathews, 26, to kill aspiring rap artist William Underwood, who went by the rapper name “FYL Jackk,” on Sept. 17, 2019.

Mathews appeared in court on Wednesday for his preliminary hearing, where an El Paso County judge reviewed evidence and testimony presented by the prosecution and ruled that there was probable cause to bind over all charges faced by Mathews, including first-degree murder.

Bernard appeared in court on Thursday for his preliminary hearing, which began much differently than his co-defendants. Bernard requested to hold a conflict hearing to have his attorney fired and to represent himself pro se moving forward.

Bernard went on to clarify that he would like to be represented by an attorney, but only one who wouldn’t be “coerced” like he claims his representation from the public defender’s office has been.

Judge Gregory Lammons approved the request from Bernard to represent himself pro se at Thursday’s preliminary hearing.

The prosecution called the same three witnesses to testify on Thursday as they did on Wednesday in Mathews’ case. The three law enforcement officials testified primarily to the same evidence presented on Wednesday, speaking about how the sheriff’s investigators came to believe that Bernard had Underwood killed due to an ongoing “beef” that started on social media.

The online dispute escalated to a point where Bernard allegedly had Mathews burn down the door of an associate of Underwood’s which led to the rap artist making a retaliatory song about the incident.

The song titled “f— you” was played by the prosecution in court on Thursday, and as the song played over the courtroom speakers Bernard could be seen mouthing along to the lyrics and dancing in his chair.

Some of the lyrics to the song included “you and your dumba– girlfriend is a doofus,” and “I’m lit like the fire you set.” The prosecution alleges those lyrics were directed at Bernard and a girlfriend he had at the time who helped start the fire.

The social media feud continued despite Bernard being in custody at the Department of Corrections at the time in 2019, including a Facebook Live between the two where they spoke on the phone while Bernard was in custody.

Despite being in custody at the El Paso jail since July, Bernard’s Facebook page continues to be very active.

Two days ago Bernard’s Facebook page made a lengthy post where he alleged that he and Mathews are being illegally detained and had nothing to do with Underwood’s death. 

“I haven’t been charged with these crimes because there’s any guilt, let alone actual evidence. I’ve been charged in order to discredit the actual truth being told regarding law enforcement and public officials from illegally robbing the hell out of the citizens of ‘Olympic City USA,'” part of the Facebook post uploaded on Tuesday stated. “Ask yourselves this, ‘If police had enough probable cause to arrest me in 2019, why are they now arresting me 5 years later, on the eve of a politically charged trial that threatened the careers of countless individuals within El Paso County?'”

The law enforcement officials went on to testify that Bernard and Mathews were identified as subjects because of a litany of phone calls made from the Department of Corrections by Bernard to Mathews in the lead up to Underwood’s death and immediately after it. In those calls, some of which were played in court Thursday, Barnard and Mathews can allegedly be heard talking cryptically about planning Underwood’s death.

A piece of evidence presented on Thursday by El Paso County Detective Courtney McCormack was that Bernard allegedly attempted to send Mathews to Florida to kill his own father, Derrick Bernard Sr., because he was worried his father was going to take the money that was willed to him when his mother passed away. McCormack testified that Bernard bought Mathews a plane ticket to Florida to “deal with his father,” but Mathews missed the flight.

Lemmons raised some concern to the presentation of this evidence describing it as “speculative” but allowed it for the purposes of the preliminary hearing.

Bernard cross-examined the three law enforcement officials himself, and brought up some issues on multiple occasions that he believes proves his innocence.

Bernard asked all three who testified how many suspects there were identified in the case between 2019 and 2024, if police were bribed by one of the witnesses with “marketing services” by one of Underwood’s friends and why they didn’t arrest a different individual who allegedly confessed to shooting Underwood.

McCormack stated that while a friend of Underwood’s offered marketing services at one point, nobody involved in the investigation ever accepted that offer.

McCormack also testified that it is true that one individual confessed to being involved on Facebook, but through further investigation it was determined that the individual was in the Department of Corrections at the time of the shooting and that it was likely his girlfriend who sent the message. McCormack added that the individual in question was in custody because of an ongoing domestic violence case with the girlfriend that McCormack said sent the message on Facebook.

During cross-examination, Bernard also asked McCormack and El Paso County Detective Sean Price if there was an agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department to keep the cases of Underwood and Kenneth Pritchett Jr. unsolved because of the profit that both agencies would receive from the “ensuing crime wave that keeping both cases unsolved would cause.” Price and McCormack both stated they had no knowledge of any such agreements.

According to previous Gazette reporting, Pritchett was shot and killed in February 2014 near Galley Road and Delaware Drive, just north of The Citadel mall.

Bernard’s conduct in court throughout the day came under scrutiny of Lammons. Bernard objected to nearly every piece of evidence presented by the prosecution, and often had verbal and physical reactions — including outright laughing — to claims being made in testimony.

“Ms. McCormack are you a liar and obsessed with me,” Bernard asked during cross-examination at one point.

“No,” McCormack responded.

Bernard’s antics came to a head at the end of the hearing after Lemmons ruled that there was sufficient probable cause to bind over all charges.

As Bernard attempted to file a motion to dismiss the case Lemmons yelled at Bernard — who was attempting to interrupt the judge speaking for the fourth time in a row — to “knock it off.”

Instead of going with the standard procedure of setting an arraignment date several months out to enter a plea, Bernard opted to enter not guilty pleas to all three charges on the spot. Bernard faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted solicitation of first-degree murder. His trial is now slated to begin on Oct. 8.

He will return to court before that on Sept. 3 for the beginning of a second trial, where Bernard is accused of the attempted homicide of a Colorado Springs police officer back in 2020. Bernard on social media and in direct email communications has also claimed to be innocent of these charges.

Several friends and family of Underwood packed the prosecution’s side of the courtroom on Thursday. Bernard’s side of the courtroom was empty with the exception of a pair of El Paso County deputies and one woman who Bernard identified as his investigator and power of attorney.

“My team on the streets will be handling investigation,” Bernard said right as Thursday’s hearing came to a close.