Two men have denied murdering a father-of-three who was shot as he left a silent disco. Leroy Mitchell, 35, was killed in a car park in Birdhurst Road, Croydon, south London, just before 5am on October 2 2021. He had been at a headphones party at a house in Birdhurst Road before his death.
Cimarron Dume-Gooden, 32, and Alpacino Veii, 29, each pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Mr Mitchell and perverting the course of justice when they appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. 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, of no fixed address, Veii, of Southwark, south-east London, were ordered to next appear for a further preliminary hearing on September 26. A six-week trial is due to begin in February next year.
Shortly after his death, Leroy’s family said in aa tribute: “Leroy Martin Mitchell was born in 1986 in Croydon to his mother Maura and father Ronald. Leroy was a cheeky child, and we loved him for it. Even as he grew older, he was always sporting a cheeky grin and trying to play tricks on me – which I would always end up laughing with him about.
“Everyone remembers Leroy with a smile on his face, and his dimples showing. Leroy was a central part of our family, and in the weeks before Leroy passed, he was planning to get everyone together. Siblings, cousins, family and friends – Leroy loved us to all be close.
“Leroy fell in love with his fiancée Louise after they met in 2004. When he died, they had been together for 17 years, and Leroy had three sweet children who we call his ‘mini-me’s’. Leroy had picked up an interest in fishing. He and his friends would go to Norwood Lakes for the afternoon, but they’d always end up talking deep in to the night, sharing stories and, occasionally, catching a fish or two.”
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