Judge: Parents must stand trial

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 14 (UPI) -- A San Francisco couple should stand trial on a charge of killing a man they say served as their daughter's pimp, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Barry Gilton, Lupe Mercado and two other people are charged with the murder of Calvin Snead, 22. The decision means the four will be arraigned in about two weeks, KGO-TV in San Francisco reported.

Snead, who lived in Los Angeles, was shot in June as he sat in a car outside Gilton's and Mercado's house in the Bayview neighborhood.

District Attorney George Gascon said the defendants planned the killing carefully. He said federal agents accidentally videotaped Gilton and the two co-defendants while investigating another case.

"You see the weapon, you see the vehicle leaving, you see the vehicle coming back shortly after the shooting and the killing," he said.

Gascon said the defendants "have been involved with gangs" in the past.

Tony Tamburello, Mercado's attorney, does not believe the prosecution has a strong case.

"Whenever you have parents that have a minor daughter that's being pimped and prostituted, there's just going to be a lot of emotions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's leading to murder," Tamburello said.