LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – A prosecutor urged jurors today to convict a man of second-degree murder for engaging in a gunfight with Los Angeles police in Silver Lake that left a Trader Joe’s employee dead from an officer’s bullet, while a defense attorney argued the shooting was not a foreseeable consequence of his client’s actions.
Gene Evin Atkins, now 36, is charged with murder — along with allegations that he personally used and discharged a firearm during the crime — in connection with the July 21, 2018, shooting death of assistant store manager Melyda “Mely” Maricela Corado, 27, who was caught in the crossfire.
Jurors were handed the case mid-Monday afternoon and spent nearly two hours in deliberations. They are due back Tuesday morning to continue their discussions…