Man who took hostages at Trader Joe’s acquitted of murder in case where LAPD killed manager in gun battle
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- Gene Atkins, 36, was acquitted of murder in the 2018 death of Mely Corado, a Trader Joe’s manager who was killed by Los Angeles police as they engaged in a gun battle with Atkins.
- Atkins shot at police before they opened fire near the Silver Lake Trader’s Joe, but many have long criticized police for shooting back and killing Corado in the chaos.
A Los Angeles man was convicted Tuesday of dozens of assault, attempted-murder and hostage-taking charges related to a wild cross-city 2018 crime rampage. But he was acquitted of murder after jurors decided he wasn’t responsible for the volley of LAPD bullets that killed a Trader Joe’s manager.
Gene Evin Atkins faced more than 50 counts of assault, shooting at police, attempted murder and false imprisonment of hostages for his actions on July 21, 2018, which started with him shooting his own grandmother in South L.A. and ended in a gun battle with police in Silver Lake that left Melyda “Mely” Corado dead.
Atkins was convicted on dozens of lesser counts Tuesday afternoon, but jurors acquitted him of first-degree murder, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The jury deadlocked on a second-degree murder charge related to Corado’s death, the spokesperson said.
Although there was little doubt Atkins would be convicted of most counts, the murder charge loomed large because he did not fire the bullet that killed Corado.
An update on the lawsuit brought by the family of Mely Cortado against the city of Los Angeles and the police officers accused of shooting her after a gun battle with a fleeing suspect.
Atkins was charged with murder under a “provocative act” theory, meaning he created the circumstances that led to Corado’s death and was therefore legally responsible.
Atkins initially led Los Angeles Police Department officers on a chase from South L.A. to Silver Lake after kidnapping his girlfriend. As he fled in his grandmother’s car, authorities said Atkins shot at officers, ran red lights and collided with multiple vehicles.
He crashed his car outside the Trader Joe’s on Hyperion Avenue and again fired at police as he ran inside the store, which was crowded with Saturday afternoon shoppers.
Officers returned fire. One of the officer’s bullets struck Corado, 27, as she took cover, killing her. Atkins was wounded in the arm, but he held shoppers and employees hostage inside the store for three hours before surrendering.
Atkins’ trial began May 11 and ran for 19 days of witness testimony and presentation of evidence that was almost entirely put on by the prosecution. The jury reached its verdict after nearly five days of deliberation.
Two Los Angeles police officers tore through traffic on Rowena Avenue on Saturday afternoon in a high-speed pursuit of an attempted murder suspect driving a Toyota Camry.
A subsequent internal investigation found that the officers who shot at Atkins acted within policy. The two officers were later cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Department officials have never identified which officer they believe fired the shot that killed Corado.
An LAPD review of the incident found that one round struck Atkins in the elbow. Another may have wounded another bystander, who is suing the city.
The LAPD came under harsh criticism for shooting a bystander, which then-Chief Michel Moore described as “every officer’s worst nightmare.”
In the years since, Corado’s name has become a rallying cry for the local movement against police brutality. Her father and brother filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers involved in the shooting, alleging that they opened fire recklessly into the crowded store. The case was settled in 2024 for $9.5 million.
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