Just days before a Texas man killed a man who was allegedly molesting his daughter, another set of parents reportedly took the law into their own hands. San Francisco couple Barry Gilton, 38, and Lupe Mercado, 37, are accused of killing the man who was allegedly pimping their 17-year-old daughter. Gilton and Mercado followed Calvin Sneed, 22, around California and failed at a first attempt to kill him before shooting him to death June 4 as he drove in San Francisco, authorities say.
Attorneys for the couple insist they did not kill Sneed, though they did everything else they could to rescue their daughter from the alleged Compton gang member after she disappeared some time ago and they found out she was working as a prostitute. Police agencies and other organizations they went to for help "turned them away," says one lawyer. Gilton and Mercado, who have three other children together, now face murder and other charges, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. (More vigilante justice stories.)