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 spree, but 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.
While 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.
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 hid for 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.
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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