The U.S. Federal Building, Post Office and Courthouse in Burlington on Nov. 20, 2009. Photo by Mfwills via Wikimedia Commons BURLINGTON — A former Stowe man accused by federal prosecutors of shooting and killing two Massachusetts men in Vermont a year ago has pleaded not guilty to drug and firearms charges in connection to the deaths. Theodore Bland, 29, appeared Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Burlington where he entered his not guilty pleas to several charges — including one alleging he used, carried and discharged a firearm — in relation to his drug trafficking activities.“(Bland’s) discharge of the firearm was related to the murders of Jahim Solomon and Eric White,” federal prosecutors wrote in a court motion seeking to have Bland detained while the case against him remains pending.In the motion, prosecutors allege that Bland killed the two men. “The evidence is also strong that after the Defendant killed Solomon and White he induced others to help him conceal the crimes, including moving the bodies of Solomon and White to two wooded areas in Eden, Vermont,” the filing stated. If convicted of the charges, Bland faces up to life in prison. During Monday’s hearing, Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle granted the prosecution’s request to hold Bland in custody as the case against him remains pending. David Sleigh, Bland’s attorney, did not object to the request.Prosecutors stated in their court filing that in their investigation into Bland they gathered social media messages detailing plans to deal illegal drugs in Chittenden, Lamoille and Caledonia counties in September and October 2023.Theodore Bland, 29. Photo via South Burlington PoliceIn addition to facing the charge of discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, Bland also pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon to federal counts of conspiracy to possess cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute. A federal grand jury in Vermont indicted him on the charges last month.Two co-defendants also named in the indictment — one accused of helping Bland hide the bodies and the other who allegedly witnessed the shooting — had already been arraigned on the charges against them and had been ordered detained.At the time of the indictment, Bland was already incarcerated awaiting sentencing in a separate federal case in Vermont in which he had earlier reached a plea agreement.Bland pleaded guilty in April in that case to a charge of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of controlled substances. That charge was brought in late October 2023.According to federal prosecutors, Bland brandished a Mossberg shotgun while threatening the driver of a vehicle at Simon’s convenience store in South Burlington on March 17, 2023.The plea deal called for a 14-month prison term. Before Bland’s arraignment Monday afternoon on the latest charges against him, Judge William K. Sessions imposed that sentence in a separate hearing, also Monday afternoon in federal court in Burlington.Read the story on VTDigger here: Former Stowe man denies federal charges linked to double slaying .