Man Convicted in 2018 Trader Joe’s Hostage Siege
A 36-year-old man was convicted this week of 40 charges stemming from a 2018 rampage that began with the attempted murders of his grandmother and girlfriend and ended in a three-hour hostage standoff inside a Silver Lake Trader Joe’s that left an assistant store manager dead.
The convict, Gene Evin Atkins, however, was not convicted on the top charge after the jury deadlocked on the second-degree murder charge connected to the death of 27-year-old Melyda Marciela Corado, an assistant manager at the store.
“On July 21, 2018, Gene Atkins went on a trail of terror, attempting to kill two people, trying to carjack innocent bystanders, engaging in a gun battle with police and holding dozens of terrified people hostage,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “Melyda Corado was needlessly killed, and others were gravely injured as a result of the defendant’s deadly actions. He may not have fired the shot that killed Melyda, but we still firmly believe he is responsible for her death.”
Jurors deliberated three days before finding Atkins guilty of three counts of attempted murder, six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, 24 counts of false imprisonment of a hostage, two counts each of attempted carjacking and mayhem, and one count each of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s vehicle and driving or taking a vehicle without consent.
On July 21, 2018, Atkins opened fire during an argument with his grandmother, wounding her and his girlfriend. He fled in a vehicle with his injured girlfriend in the front seat, led police on a pursuit, and attempted an unsuccessful carjacking at a gas station before crashing near the Trader Joe’s on Hyperion Avenue. He ran into the store firing at officers.
As police and Atkins exchanged gunfire, Corado was fatally shot. The standoff lasted more than three hours before Atkins was taken into custody.
Atkins faces a sentence of more than 80 years to life in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Benjamin Schwartz, Major Crimes Division, and Ani Bailey, Target Crimes Division.
Federal Jury Convicts Four MS-13 Members in Triple Murder in Angeles National Forest
A federal jury convicted four members of Mara Salvatrucha, the gang known as MS-13, in connection with three murders carried out in the Angeles National Forest in 2017, including the killing of a victim whose heart was carved from his chest.
“These defendants carried out acts of unimaginable brutality in service of a criminal organization that relies on fear, intimidation and murder to maintain its power,” said LA District Attorney Hochman. “Yesterday’s verdicts hold them accountable for taking three lives in a campaign of violence that terrorized communities across Los Angeles County.”
Following a 17-day trial, jurors on June 4 found Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, of Panorama City; Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, of Panorama City; Edgard Velasquez, 43, of Reseda; and Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, of Koreatown guilty of racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering.
The murders occurred between March and June 2017. In one killing, gang leaders ordered the execution of a victim accused of defacing a rival gang’s graffiti. He was abducted, strangled, transported to the Angeles National Forest, attacked with machetes, dismembered and dumped in a canyon. In a second murder, a victim who had fled El Salvador amid suspicion of cooperating with law enforcement was lured to the forest through a social media deception and killed. In the third case, an MS-13 associate accused of exaggerating his status within the gang was taken to the forest and stabbed and hacked to death.
The case was prosecuted as a cross-designation, with Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Eric W. Siddall serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney alongside federal prosecutors.
Sentencing hearings are set for Oct. 20. Each defendant faces one or more mandatory life sentences. Federal prosecutors have now secured more than 30 convictions in the long-running MS-13 racketeering prosecution.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy District Attorney Eric W. Siddall, alongside Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang, William Larsen and Suria M. Bahadue.
Man Charged With Fatally Stabbing Actor James Handy Outside Tarzana Home
A 44-year-old man has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of actor James Handy outside a Tarzana home where the suspect lived with his mother, who had been in a relationship with the 81-year-old victim.
Michael Gledhill was charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that he personally used a knife. He was arraigned in Department 100 of the Van Nuys Courthouse.
“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” District Attorney Hochman said. “The victim, James Handy, deserved to live out his later years enjoying what he had worked so hard for and enjoying it with those he loved and cared about.”
On June 3, at approximately 9:30 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call in the 19200 block of Erwin Street and found Handy stabbed and lying in the front yard. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died. Gledhill, who lived at the home, was arrested at the scene.
Handy had a lengthy career in film and television spanning decades. If convicted as charged, Gledhill faces up to 26 years to life in state prison. Bail was recommended at $2.02 million.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney George Morris, Family Violence Division.
Also On The Docket
Seven CHP Officers Face Charges in Death of Edward Bronstein — Three of the seven California Highway Patrol officers charged in connection with the 2021 death of Edward Bronstein — Michael Allen Little, Dionisio Michael Fiorella Jr. and Dustin Andrew Osmanson — are scheduled for a preliminary hearing setting June 11 at the Criminal Justice Center. Bronstein died after being held face down during a DUI blood draw at a CHP station. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Brad Harmon, Justice System Integrity Division.
LAUSD Employee, Vendor Owner Face Felony Charges in $22 Million Contracting Scheme — Hong “Grace” Peng, an employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Gautham Sampath, identified as a vendor owner, were charged with felony counts in an alleged contracting fraud scheme totaling $22 million. The case was set for a preliminary hearing on June 10 at the Criminal Justice Center. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins, Public Integrity Division.
