Third person charged in slaying of Compton youth pastor

A reputed gang member suspected of fatally shooting a popular Compton youth pastor in June has been charged with his murder.

Hopeton Parsley, 23, who is accused of being the shooter in the slaying of Oscar Duncan on a Venice street, is a reputed Playboy Gangster Crip, said the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office in a statement.

Co-defendants Kevin Dwayne Green, 29, who goes by the moniker Baby Skull, and Nichole Sheran, 18, were each previously charged with one count of murder with gang enhancements.

Police believe about four males drove up to Duncan and jeered at his girlfriend as the two stood on a Venice street. The assailants shouted a gang name as one of them fired a single shot, striking Duncan in the head, police said.

Duncan, 23, was homecoming king and football captain at Venice High School and a youth minister at his Compton church. Police had said they believed the act was random. Duncan was not in a gang and had no criminal record, authorities said.

"It's totally unfair," Duncan's brother Curtis Nettles said shortly after the shooting. "He died for something he stood against."

Parsley is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Los Angeles County Superior Court. Prosecutors are asking that bail be set at $2 million. If convicted Parsley faces at least 50 years to life in state prison, the district attorney's office said.

Inmate records show Parsley was arrested in January by Culver City police and released from jail in April. Culver City police Lt. Ron Iizuka said Parsley was charged with one count each of domestic violence, assault and making criminal threats.

Green was charged with second-degree robbery in a separate incident May 21, along with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is expected to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Jan. 28 for a pretrial conference.

Sheran, who plead not guilty to the murder charge, returns to court Feb. 20 for a preliminary hearing.

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Photo: A memorial poster for Oscar Duncan signed by friends and family. The youth pastor was murdered in June. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times