Supporters Pack Hearing For Couple Accused of Slaying Their Daughter's Pimp

The couple accused of their daughter's pimp in San Francisco after a failed drive-by shooting attempt in North Hollywood eight days earlier appeared in court Wednesday in front of a large crowd of supporters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Outside court, the couple's lawyer, Tony Tamburello, argued that the only evidence supplied by the police was the couple's "perceived motive" to kill Calvin Sneed, according to the San Francisco Appeal. Sneed was shot dead June 4 in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood. 

"Mr. Sneed was in the mix. He's a gang member. He's been involved in gang fights and shootouts in Los Angeles and there are many people who had a motive to do harm to him and we feel our clients are being unfairly targeted," Tamburello said, according to the Chronicle.

District Attorney George Gascon said the couple were nothing more than a couple of old fashioned vigilantes.

"Basically, what we have is we have the parents who become the judge, the jury and executioners," Gascon said, according to the Chronicle.

The Chronicle and other news agencies reported that the courtroom was packed with supporters for the couple, Barry Gilton and Lupe Mercado, both 37, who are not married but have four children together.

On the night of May 27, authorities believe the couple failed in an attempt to kill Sneed during a drive-by shooting in North Hollywood when several 9mm rounds were shot into Sneed's car, missing but injuring him, according to the Chronicle.

Below is a press release from the San Francisco Police Department regarding Sneed's killing:

On June 4, 2012 at approximately 2:00AM, San Francisco Police responded to a shooting at Le Conte and Mead Street. Upon arrival, officers located the victim, Calvin Sneed, 22, of Los Angeles. Sneed had been shot and was transported by ambulance to San Francisco General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

As a result of their investigation, San Francisco Homicide Inspectors identified the suspects responsible for this killing. On the afternoon of June 9, 2012 San Francisco Police arrested two suspects in San Francisco. Lupe Mercado, 37, of San Francisco and Barry Gilton, 38, of San Francisco were booked at SF County Jail on homicide charges.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Sgt. Braconi, Sgt. Watts, Inspector Jones or Inspector Cunningham of the SFPD Homicide Detail at (415) 553-1145.