Three men accused of attempted murder in connection with a shooting and stabbing at a South Portland recreational complex appeared in court Tuesday, two of them to enter pleas of not guilty, and the third to argue bail.

Essa Sayed, 18, and Noah Sibole-Little, 19, both of Portland, each pleaded not guilty to charges of elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault, robbery and two counts of attempted murder in their appearance in the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland.

Justice Nancy Mills ordered both men held on bail at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland while their cases are pending. She set Sayed’s bail at $100,000 and Sibole-Little’s at $50,000.

The third man, Zachary Swain, 19, of Cape Elizabeth, who had previously been arraigned on the same charges and pleaded not guilty, was in court to argue that his bail be reduced from $100,000. But that hearing was postponed to Aug. 27.

A fourth man, John Albert Janums, 19, of Portland, has also been indicted in the case on the same charges. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

The four are accused of shooting one man and stabbing another on March 11 at the Wainwright Recreation Complex parking lot on Gary L. Maietta Way in South Portland. The men were conducting a drug deal involving “a relatively small quantity of marijuana,” police say.

One victim, 19-year-old Ian Soule of South Portland, was shot and treated briefly at a hospital before being released. The other, 19-year-old Colin Harle of South Portland, was stabbed and hospitalized for a longer period at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

In an affidavit filed with the court to obtain arrest and search warrants, South Portland police Detective Jake Hall outlines what victims told police about the attacks.

Harle had arranged to sell marijuana to a man he knew only as “Yung Savage” using a mobile texting application called “MeetMe.” He said in the affidavit that he asked Soule to ride along as he drove to the sports complex in his Ford Mustang.

Once there, Harle got out and began talking to “Yung Savage,” later identified by police as Swain. Soule watched as the talking turned to fighting and another man smashed the passenger window of the Mustang and took the marijuana from the seat, the affidavit said.

Soule told police after leaving the hospital that he got into the driver’s seat of the Mustang after the fighting started to try to get away.

“Soule said that he then heard a gunshot and felt that he was struck in the chest. Soule said Harle was able to get away from the men and get back into the car. Harle was spurting blood from his back at this point. Soule said he heard another gunshot but was able to drive out of the sports complex parking lot and get to the hospital,” Hall stated in the affidavit.

Witnesses identified Swain as the man who stabbed Harle and shot Soule, Hall wrote.

Later in the investigation, police discovered that Swain and Sibole-Little had posted messages on a Facebook page, “Maine Firearm & Weapons Buy Sell Trade,” during the week before the incident looking to buy handguns and ammunition.

The charges of attempted murder, robbery and elevated aggravated assault are each punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Aggravated assault is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan