Two men charged with 1st degree murder in separate homicide cases in Sidney each entered Not Guilty pleas Tuesday in Cheyenne County District Court.

A trial date for 53-year old Larry Martinez will be set during a March 6th hearing, while a status hearing for 34-year old Jason Custer is scheduled for April 3rd. Both men remain in the Cheyenne County jail.

Martinez is charged with 1st degree murder and felony use of a firearm for the shooting death of 30 year old Mandy Kerschman in a Sidney home last July. Court documents say Martinez told investigators he shot Kershman because a text message from her made him mad.

Custer faces the same 2 charges as Martinez plus illegal possession of a firearm. He’s accused of the fatal shooting in November of Adam McCormick of Sidney, allegedly in an argument over some $160 in drug money. Custer fled to Big Springs after the shooting, but was arrested later that day at a motel.