A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder related to shootings in Halifax that happened within days of one another is looking to have two separate trials.

Lawyers for Tyrell Peter Dechamp appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Thursday, looking to schedule a severance hearing.

The Crown is opposed to separate trials in the deaths of Naricho Clayton and Tyler Richards, who were gunned down in April 2016.

Dechamp, 28, was arrested in December 2017, just as he was due to be released from the Atlantic Institution, the maximum security prison in northern New Brunswick where he was serving a sentence for previous offences.

Dechamp is also accused of attempted murder in the shooting of Ricardo Whynder, who was in a car with Clayton when he was killed.

The case will return to court later this month when lawyers are expected to set dates for the severance hearing. Dechamp remains in custody in the meantime.