Men plead not guilty at Old Bailey to Birdhurst Road murder

Two men have denied murdering Leroy Mitchell in a shooting at a silent disco in South Croydon in 2021.

Mitchell, 35 years old and a father of three, was shot as he left the party on Birdhurst Road just before 5am on October 2 2021.

A £20,000 reward was offered by charity Crimestoppers later that year, but it wasn’t until 2025 that any arrests were made.

Cimarron Dume-Gooden, 32, of no fixed address, was charged in June this year with the murder of Leroy Mitchell and perverting the course of justice.

Yesterday, he appeared at the Old Bailey alongside Alpacino Veii for a pre-trial preparation hearing.

Veii, 29, of Hassocks Road, Streatham, was arrested in May and charged with murder and possession of cannabis.

At the Old Bailey, Veii and Dume-Gooden each pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Mr Mitchell and perverting the course of justice.

It is alleged they attempted to pervert the course of justice by setting a BMW alight and destroying the clothing inside it, and also by hiding at addresses in Walsall and Somerset.

There is to be a further preliminary hearing on September 26, with their trial set for February, and expected to last six weeks.

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