Overview
- A jury reached a verdict Tuesday that found Gene Evin Atkins not guilty of first‑degree murder, deadlocked on a second‑degree murder charge, and guilty on 40 other counts related to the 2018 Silver Lake Trader Joe’s shooting.
- The convictions include attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer, attempted carjacking, mayhem, and multiple counts of false imprisonment for people held inside the store.
- The fatal bullet that struck 27‑year‑old Melyda Corado was fired from an LAPD officer’s sidearm during a gunfight, and the officer has said in a sworn statement that he had no alternative but to shoot.
- The City of Los Angeles earlier agreed to a $9.5 million wrongful‑death settlement with Corado’s family while the Police Commission and inspector general concluded the officers acted within department policy and the DA declined to charge them.
- The court will now resolve sentencing and the pending insanity defense and psychiatric evaluations, and the case is likely to shape how prosecutors use the provocative‑act doctrine and how police use of force in public spaces is scrutinized.