(L.A.) Melyda Corado, 27, Shot Dead by LAPD at Trader Joe’s

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Case Number: 2018-05658

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 27-year-old Hispanic female that occurred in a vehicle.

The coroner’s office has identified the woman as Melyda Corado.

Manner of Death: Homicide

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound of the Chest

RIP MELYDA MARICELA CORADO (April 23, 1991 – July 21, 2018)

Location and day of death: 2738 Hyperion Avenue, Saturday

The decedent was a Trader Joe’s assistant store manager who was shot by LAPD during their pursuit of a suspect.

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. after officers from the LAPD’s Newton Division responded to a call regarding a shooting. A 28-year-old man shot his grandmother at least seven times and hurt another woman near East 32nd Street.The man kidnapped the woman in his grandmother’s Toyota Camry.

Hours later, police located the car by tracking its anti-theft device, sparking a pursuit. The driver shot out the vehicle’s back window while firing at police before the car crashed into a light pole outside the Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake.

Corado went to see if there was a car accident and if someone needed help. She died from a single bullet wound as the suspect and the officers traded gunfire outside the store.

The man was struck in his left arm, ran inside, trapping 40 to 50 people in the store, and a hostage negotiation ensued.

The hostage-taker was identified as Gene Evin Atkins, a 28-year-old African-American male.

In December 2020, the LA County District Attorney’s Office announced that it had determined the two Hollywood Division officers were justified in using deadly force and would not face charges. Instead, Atkins was charged with the murder under the theory that he set off the chain of events that led to the death.

The two officers were Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winan.

LAPD put a security hold on the autopsy report, preventing the Corado family from obtaining the report from the coroner’s office without a court order. At the time of the autopsy, an extended toxicology was requested, which is not typically done for such a clear-cut homicide case. The only reason the LAPD would’ve requested an extended toxicology report was if the LAPD was trying to find something that they think might have been damaging to the character of the decedent.

On July 23, 2018, Deputy Medical Examiner Scott Luzi performed a postmortem examination of Corado’s remains. An autopsy revealed Corado suffered one fatal gunshot wound. The projectile travelled through Corado’s left arm, 15.5 centimeters below the top of her shoulder. It exited her left arm and entered her left torso, traveling through her left lung and heart.

Subsequent ballistic testing revealed that it was one of Tse’s rounds that struck Corado.

Melyda Corado’s brother, Albert Corado Jr., became a police abolition activist and ran for Los Angeles City Council against incumbent Mitch O’Farrell.