Search Articles
LOS ANGELES (CN) — The trial of Gene Evin Atkins, the man who shot his grandmother before leading police into a deadly hostage standoff at a Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles, finally kicked off Monday nearly eight years after the incident.
“The defendant set in motion this chain of events that terrorized not only his family members but also innocent people going about their day,” Deputy District Attorney Ani Bailey told the jury in her hourlong opening argument. “And it resulted in the tragic death of a young woman.”
LAPD officers returned fired at Atkins as he was entering the Silver Lake supermarket in 2018. One of the shots hit a Trader Joe’s assistant manager, 27-year-old Melyda Corado, who was dragged out of the store some 20 minutes later and died soon after at the scene. Prosecutors charged Atkins with the murder, under the theory that it was his “provocative act” that led to the fatal shooting.
Atkins, now 36, appeared in court wearing a white dress shirt over a neon green jail shirt, and tan dress pants sagging well below his belt line. In July 2018, he was living with his grandmother, Mary Madison, and his aunt in southeast LA. On the day of the shooting, Atkins was with a 17-year-old girl in his bedroom. This led to an argument with his grandmother, who had raised him for much of his life.
“He needed a place of his own if he wanted to entertain,” Madison testified in 2019, in video footage played in court after Bailey’s opening statement. “I used to tell him that.” She was also upset that Atkins had the lights on during the day, and that he “wasn’t out looking for a job.”
Moments after the argument, prosecutors say Atkins shot the young woman, Leah Williams, in the face at point-blank range. He then walked into Madison’s bedroom and shot her multiple times. Then he grabbed the keys to Madison’s dark blue Toyota Camry, forced Williams into the car and took off.
Though gravely injured, Madison was able to tell police officers responding to the scene who had shot her, and that her car had LoJack.
“Honestly, I believed she was going to die,” LAPD officer Antonio Hurtado testified on Monday. After multiple surgeries, she survived, but lived the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She died in 2024.
The information given by Madison allowed officers to quickly locate Atkins. A 14-minute car chase, from Hollywood to Silver Lake, ensued. Atkins fired his gun at police through his car’s rear window, shattering the glass.
At one point, he pulled into a gas station and attempted to carjack a family pumping gas into their Jeep Wrangler. The man refused to hand over the keys, and Atkins got back into the Camry and kept driving. He fired more shots at police, sideswiped another vehicle and eventually crashed into a utility pole just outside the Silver Lake Trader Joe’s, known for its crowded parking lot.
Atkins left Williams in the car and dashed into the store, firing again at police. Two LAPD officers returned fire. One of the shots hit Atkins in the arm, but another struck Corado. Atkins remained ensconced in the supermarket for more than three hours, taking more than a dozen customers and employees as hostages, using some as a “human shield,” in Bailey’s words, forcing them to stand at the front of the store and surround him. Finally, Atkins was convinced to surrender.
Although LAPD Chief Michael Moore eventually found the officers’ actions didn’t violate department policy, the Corado family sued the city, which in 2024 agreed to pay them $9.5 million.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, concluded that the two officers who shot at Atkins “acted in lawful self-defense, defense of others, and in pursuit of a dangerous fleeing felon when they used deadly force,” and instead charged Atkins with murder, kidnapping, grand theft, and the attempted murder of Madison and Williams.
Initially, Atkins had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, telling the court in 2019, “I was sent here by Jesus” and “I’m a prophet. Sent to correct the wrong." In 2021, he was found mentally competent to stand trial. His defense attorney declined to present an opening argument Monday, but reserved the right to make one after the prosecution rests their case. He declined to comment on the evidence presented Monday.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks, with Williams scheduled to testify on Tuesday. Some of the Trader Joe’s hostages will also take the stand later in the trial.
Follow @hillelaronSubscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
