A couple is accused of murdering a pimp who was allegedly forcing their young daughter into prostitution. Click below to read the full story.

Melissa Nash

A San Francisco couple is accused of murdering an alleged pimp in a final bold act to rescue their 17-year-old daughter from a life of prostitution.

Now, her father faces life in prison.

Barry Gilton, 38, and girlfriend, Lupe Mercado, 37, allegedly tracked the victim and gunned him down as he drove in the early hours of June 4, prosecutors said Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Calvin Sneed, the alleged pimp and a suspected gang member from Los Angeles County, was shot with a .40-caliber handgun near Candlestick Park, police said. He crashed his car and later died at San Francisco General Hospital, the Chronicle reported.

The couple is being tied to at least one other attack against Sneed. The 22-year-old was previously caught in a spray of gunfire on May 27 in North Hollywood, and police believe Gilton and Mercado were involved, NBCBayArea.com reported.

The pair, arrested Saturday, have been dating since their teens and are parents of four children, including the 17-year-old, whom local reports didn’t identify. The parents had reportedly found the girl in an escort ad and believed she was working for Sneed.

Gilton was additionally charged with possession of a firearm as a felon; he was convicted of drug charges in 1995, according to the Chronicle.

While Gilton, the suspected gunman, could see life in prison, Mercado also faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted.

Attorney Eric Safire, who represents Gilton, acknowledged the couple had a motive for killing Sneed, but evidence is flimsy.

“There’s no weapon, and there’s no eyewitness,” Safire said, according to the Chronicle. “What we do know is that the victim is a known gang member, he was out at 2 a.m. in a high crime area — I can only presume he was engaged in his normal and customary (pimping) activities.”

But District Attorney George Gascon told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that prosecutors have “substantial evidence to believe that this was a premeditated event.”

Sneed’s father, Charles Sneed, referred to his son as “a pimp,” but condemned his killing.

“Who are they to say they are God, to determine whether Calvin lived or died?” Charles Sneed told the Chronicle on Thursday. “How come they didn’t let a judge do that? They took it into their own hands.”

Gilton and Mercado will be arraigned June 20 and are each held on $2 million bail, the Los Angeles Times said.

The couple’s children, including the 17-year-old daughter, are now living with other family, according to reports.