A man accused of shooting his grandmother before a police chase that ended in a deadly standoff and shootout at a Silver Lake Trader Joe’s was found not guilty of the most serious charge against him Tuesday in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Gene Atkins faced 40 felony counts in connection with the attack that injured his grandmother and girlfriend and subsequent armed standoff that resulted in the shooting death of Trader Joe’s store assistant manager Melyda “Mely” Corado. A gunshot from an LAPD sidearm went through the store during the gunfight, striking and killing Corado.
Atkins was found not guilty of first-degree murder, and jurors were split on a charge of second-degree murder, 10-2 in favor of conviction. Atkins was convicted of all four counts of assault on a peace officer, 24 counts of false imprisonment of a hostage, three counts of attempted murder and other crimes…