LA jury finds man charged with murder of Trader Joe's employee not guilty, but guilty of dozens of other charges

A Los Angeles jury found the man charged with the murder of a 27-year-old Trader Joe's assistant manager, who was fatally shot by a police officer in front of the Silver Lake store in 2018, not guilty of first-degree murder.

While Gene Evin Atkins, 36, was acquitted of first-degree murder, jurors were split 10-2 on a second-degree murder charge and convicted him on 40 other charges, including attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm on a peace officer, attempted carjacking, and mayhem.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office will consider whether to retry the second-degree murder count in the future. 

Atkins set off a chain of events on July 21, 2018, that led to the death of Melyda "Mely" Maricela Corado. Though he was not the person who fatally shot Corado, he was charged with her killing under the theory that Corado's death was the result of his actions.

Prosecutors say Atkins first shot his 76-year-old grandmother and 17-year-old girlfriend in South Los Angeles before taking his grandmother's vehicle and leading police on a wild chase, ending at the Trader Joe's store as he dashed inside, firing at police.

Police returned fire and struck and killed Corado. Atkins ultimately surrendered to police after a four-hour standoff inside the store where he held employees and customers hostage.

Then-Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore confirmed in 2018 that the bullet that killed Corado was fired by an officer, not by Atkins.

Atkins was charged with murder for Corado's shooting death under the "provocative act doctrine," under the theory that her death was the natural and probable consequence of his actions.

"The first-degree murder count was based on the idea that if you go ahead and cause in essence, the police to shoot, because you are shooting at the police and they're returning fire, you're responsible if the police end up shooting any particular individual that's in the line of fire," Hochman said following Tuesday's verdict.   

Initially, in 2019, Atkins pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but in 2021, he was found mentally competent to stand trial.