Crime & Safety
Two Ordered to Stand Trial in Pastor's Shooting
Two defendants will be tried in the death of Compton minister Oscar Duncan, who was shot in Venice last year.
A man and woman were ordered Thursday to stand trial in the shooting death of a Compton youth minister in Venice last June.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Dabney found sufficient evidence to require Hopeton Parsley, 23, and Nichole Sheran, 18, to proceed to trial in connection with the June 4 killing of Oscar Duncan, along with two counts each of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.
A third defendant, Kevin Dwayne Green, 29, had already been ordered to stand trial on charges stemming from Duncan's slaying.
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Duncan, who was not a gang member and was actively involved in gang-intervention efforts, was standing with his girlfriend on a Venice street at the time of the attack, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Parsley was allegedly with a group of people who drove up to Duncan and his girlfriend and shouted a gang name at them. Parsley then allegedly fired a single shot, hitting the 23-year-old man in the head.
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Green is due back at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles for a pretrial hearing next Thursday, with Parsley and Sheran set to return to court for arraignment April 25.