Two brothers charged in the aftermath of a targeted killing in the east end of St. John’s have now pleaded not guilty.

The pleas automatically trigger preliminary inquiries for both 19-year-old Ibrahim Hussein and 23-year-old Hussein Hussein.

That also moves the charges to Supreme Court for potential jury trials, pending the outcome of the inquiries, will which determine if those trials are warranted.

The younger of the two is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 33-year-old Gerald Kyle “Scrappy” Hynes on Watson Street on April 8th.

His older brother is charged with accessory after the fact, and resisting or obstructing an officer — essentially accused of trying to help his brother get away with murder.

They were on the run for a couple of days before being captured at the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in Port aux Basques.

Both men have been kept apart since their arrests.

Hussein Hussein was released on bail earlier this week while Ibrahim remains in custody at HMP.

In addition to murder, he’s charged with several gun offences and breaches of previous release orders, which will be dealt with separately.

He also faces pre-existing charges of assault and two counts of making death threats.

Both of their preliminary inquiries are set for the fall.