Jury selection is set to begin today in the trial of a Lawrence man charged with gun violations in connection with the unsolved killing of a 28-year-old hip-hop artist, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Major C. Edwards Jr., 27, is charged in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., with five counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

The charges stem from a police investigation into the shooting death of Anthony J. Vital, who was found Oct. 14 in a field along U.S. Highway 40 west of Lawrence. Three other people face charges in Douglas County District Court related to the investigation of Vital’s death – for either obstruction or gun charges – but so far no one has been charged with the killing.