NOT GUILTY PLEAS IN TWO SIDNEY MURDER CASES

          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.