Father-of-three shot dead as revenge, court told

A father-of-three was shot dead outside a silent disco in south London in an "act of petty revenge", a court has heard.

Leroy Mitchell, 35, died at the scene after he was attacked in Birdhurst Road, Croydon, on 2 October 2021.

Alpacino Veii, 29, known as Alpo, and 32-year-old Cimarron Dume-Gooden are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his murder, as well as perverting the course of justice - charges they both deny.

Prosecutor Joel Smith KC told jurors the killing was "an act of petty revenge after a fight between Mr Mitchell and the first defendant, in this case at a nightclub a couple of years previously".

The "trivial motive" dated back to May 2019 when Mitchell allegedly hit Veii in the face and Veii's friend was knocked over by a car after a fight broke out between their groups at Granaries nightclub in Croydon.

Veii then tried to hit the vehicle with a hammer before being arrested, the Old Bailey heard.

On the night of Mitchell's death, Veii, who is from Southwark, and Cimarron Dume-Gooden, of Thornton Heath, allegedly arrived at the disco venue in a BMW hatchback at 02:10 GMT.

Mitchell turned up at 04:30 and less than half-an-hour later, he was shot in the head in the car park outside.

The court was told people had started to flee after hearing what sounded like a firework, with one of them stumbling over Mitchell's body on the ground.

Neighbours also allegedly heard the gunshot followed by a woman screaming and a man swearing and shouting: "Help me."

A post-mortem examination concluded he had been shot once in the head at close range, jurors heard.

After the shooting, Veii and Dume-Gooden allegedly fled in the BMW, which was bearing false registration plates.

By 6 October, the car had been torched, along with clothes the defendants had been wearing and sim cards, in an attempt to destroy evidence, the court heard.

The shooting itself was not caught on CCTV but the prosecutor said different strands of evidence, including from traffic cameras and mobile phones, showed Veii and Dume-Gooden were responsible.

Kwabena Ofori, 29, of South Norwood, and Issa Souleman, 29, of New Cross, have also denied perverting the course of justice between 1 and 14 October 2021.

The trial continues.

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