RALEIGH - Three men charged with fatally shooting two people and wounding two others at a brothel Saturday appeared today before a judge who agreed to appoint lawyers to represent them.

The three face charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shootings at a rental home on Sunnybrook Road that police say was being used for prostitution.

Wake District Court Judge Christine Walczyk told the three through an interpreter that they could face the death penalty if convicted of murder. One of the men, Elvin Adrian Martinez, 21, let out a heavy sigh as the interpreter explained what the judge had said.

Martinez and his co-defendants -- Rony Avararo Martinez, 23, and Mauricio Castillo, 19 -- are being held without bail in the Wake County Jail. They appeared before the judge on camera from the jail.

The three were living in Durham when they were arrested this week. Federal immigration authorities think the three entered the country illegally.

Killed were Marco Antonio Alvarez-Martinez, 19, and Gregorio Lopez-Estrada, 23. Police identified the wounded as Aquillino Padilla-Meza, 26, and Angelica Avendano-Peredda, 20.

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