LAPD Officers In 2018 Trader Joe’s Shooting Will Not Be Charged In Employee’s Death

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Albert Corado, right, the father of Melyda Corado, seen in a portrait with her brother Albert Corado Jr. His daughter, assistant manager of a Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles, was killed by a police bullet when an armed suspect fled into the store in July 2018.

Damian Dovarganes/AP

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

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Gene Atkins appears for the first time in Los Angeles County Superior court in July 2018. Police say Atkins shot his grandmother seven times, kidnapped his 17-year-old girlfriend and shot at officers when he fled into a Trader Joe’s store in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Damian Dovarganes/AP

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It is also about a week before newly sworn-in District Attorney George Gascón assumed office and promised to implement a slew of criminal justice reforms, including a pledge to stop seeking the death penalty when prosecuting individual cases and stopping most uses of cash bail.

He also vowed to review law enforcement fatal use-of-force cases going back to 2012.

It is unclear if his office plans to review the Corado case.

A pursuit ending in tragedy

According to the memorandum, officers Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans began to pursue Atkins, who had earlier shot his grandmother multiple times. She survived.

He fled the scene of that shooting in a Toyota Camry.

The pursuit lasted approximately 15 minutes and covered nine miles, according to the memorandum, and ended when Atkins crashed into an electrical pole just feet from a Trader Joe’s located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

During the pursuit Atkins opened fire on officers from the vehicle. After the crash, Atkins fired an additional three rounds at officers, the report said, then ran inside the market.

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The memorandum states that Tse fired five rounds in Atkins’ direction, while Winans fired three.

«Nine seconds passed from the time Atkins crashed the Camry until he entered the Trader Joe’s. During this time, Corado ran towards the entrance doors of the Trader Joe’s, the memorandum states.

Moments later she ran back into the view of the market’s surveillance cameras, followed by Atkins, the report said.

«At some point during these nine seconds, Corado was struck by gunfire, according to the district attorney’s report. But it adds that surveillance footage did not record Corado being struck nor was the fatal shot recorded by officer-worn body cameras or police vehicle dashboard cameras.

Police were unaware that Corado was injured until after Atkins corralled a number of hostages and used one of their cell phones to contact officers in an attempt to negotiate.

Atkins eventually allowed two hostages to carry Corado outside to police.

Los Angles Fire Department officials began to administer treatment to Corado, but a short time later she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Subsequent ballistics tests reveal it was one of Tse’s rounds that was the fatal shot.

Atkins, who was struck in the arm but survived, is facing 54 criminal charges according to the report, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and assault on an officer with a gun.

You can read the full memorandum below.