The man accused of shooting and killing a local rap artist in 2019 pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday and is now set to go to trial in early 2025.

Aee Shawn Mathews, 26, is accused of killing William Underwood, who went by the rapper name “FYL Jackk,” on Sept. 17, 2019. The allegations against Mathews include that local radio personality and rapper Derrick Bernard, 35, ordered Mathews to kill Underwood because of an online feud.

Mathews appeared in court virtually and out of custody for the hearing after posting an $800,000 surety bond in May, according to court records.

All parties involved in the hearing appeared virtually due to concerns over the actions of individuals who had been attending previous hearings, Judge Gregory Lammons said to open proceedings on Thursday.

Mathews previously appeared in court in June to plead not guilty to seven charges, including attempted first-degree murder, in connection to a 2022 criminal case.

In court on Thursday Mathews pleaded not guilty to four charges, two counts of first-degree murder and two violent crime sentence enhancements.

Co-defendant Bernard has already pleaded not guilty to all charges in connection to Underwood’s death. Bernard faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of solicitation of first-degree murder.

Mathews is now slated to begin trial on the homicide charges in connection to Underwood’s death on Jan. 13, which attorneys agree is expected to take two weeks. Mathews will begin trial on the attempted homicide case on Dec. 2; attorneys stated at the June hearing that the trial is also expected to last about two weeks.

Bernard, who is representing himself, will face trial before Mathews on Sept. 3 for the beginning of his first of two trials. Bernard is accused of the attempted homicide of a Colorado Springs police officer in 2020, and faces eight charges, including four counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Bernard is slated to begin his second jury trial on Oct. 8, where he is accused of ordering Mathews to kill Underwood.

At Bernard’s preliminary hearing in May, prosecutors outlined how they believe a feud that started online led to Bernard ordering Mathews to kill Underwood from inside the Sterling Correctional Facility, where he was being held at the time on unrelated charges.

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

Bernard has claimed to be innocent of all charges.

Earlier this year, a Facebook page belonging to Bernard made a lengthy post in which he alleged that he and Mathews were 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 five years later, on the eve of a politically charged trial that threatened the careers of countless individuals within El Paso County?’”

Bernard remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a bond totaling $1.75 million between two cases.