Two more men arrested over 2021 Birdhurst Road shooting

The Metropolitan Police has made further arrests in the investigation into the murder of Leroy Mitchell at a silent disco in South Croydon in 2021.

Issa Souleman, 28, of Achilles Street, SE14, and Kwabena Ofori, 28, were charged on August 13 with perverting the course of justice.

“This is in relation to the investigation into the death of Leroy Mitchell,” a Met spokesperson told Inside Croydon this morning.

“The charges follow arrests on Tuesday August 12. They will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 26.”

The arrests of Souleman and Ofori occurred around the time that two other men were appearing at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of Mitchell.

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 murder and perverting the course of justice. In August, he and Alpacino Veii, 29, of Hassocks Road, Streatham, both pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Mitchell and perverting the course of justice.

Veii was arrested in May and charged with murder and possession of cannabis.

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.

Dume-Gooden and Veii are also to appear at the Old Bailey for a further preliminary hearing on September 26, with their trial set for February, and expected to last six weeks.

Inside Croydon – If you want real journalism, delivering real news, from a publication that is actually based in the borough, please consider paying for it. Sign up today: click here for more details

Inside Croydon has moved to Bluesky. Click here to join us there for latest updates and insights

PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates

Check out our archive of podcasts on Spotify, including our monthly news discussion panel show thingy, the Croydon Insider, and The Andrew Fisher Interview

If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com

As featured on Google News Showcase

We offer FREE ads to community groups when they have members who are paid subscribers to Inside Croydon

Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here