A Douglas County judge ruled Friday that a 29-year-old Lawrence man and a 23-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man should stand trial for the 2006 shooting death of a former Lawrence hip-hop artist.

During a preliminary hearing for Major C. Edwards Jr., 29, and Durrell Jones, 23, prosecutors presented several witnesses whose testimony tied the defendants to a handgun used to kill Anthony Vital, 28.

Vital’s body was found in October 2006 west of Lawrence. Two jailmates have also testified that Edwards confessed the murder to them while he was in federal custody in another case.

One informant, Demario Eatman, who faces a federal weapons charge, testified that Edwards told him he killed Vital over a disagreement about a woman and something to do with the music business.

David Melton, a chief assistant Douglas County district attorney, said items found near Vital’s body also match the DNA of the two defendants.

“We know a number of things about Durrell Jones and Major Edwards,” Melton told District Judge Robert Fairchild.

But defense attorneys for Edwards and Jones said Fairchild needed to weigh the entire context of the testimony from witnesses, and they said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to warrant trials for premeditated first-degree murder.

“If we want to look at what was said, there was no evidence of premeditation. None,” said Jason Billam, the attorney for Edwards.

But Fairchild ruled that the two defendants go to trial. Both defendants pleaded not guilty. Fairchild scheduled their next court appearance for Feb. 17.