A chilling murder trial at the Old Bailey has revealed how Leroy Mitchell, a father of three, was blasted point-blank in the head in a brutal act of payback.
Silent Disco Horror in South Croydon
Mitchell, 35, was gunned down in the early hours of October 2, 2021, at a quiet, silent disco on Birdhurst Road, South Croydon. A massive £20,000 reward couldn’t speed up justice — it took nearly four years before arrests were finally made last summer.
Cimarron Dume-Gooden, 32, from Thornton Heath, was charged with murder and perverting the course of justice in June 2025. Alongside him is Alpacino Veii, 29, from Streatham. Both men deny killing Mitchell and the related cover-up claims.
Veii was arrested in May 2025 and also faces cannabis possession charges. Two others, Kwabena Ofori and Issa Souleman, both 29, are accused of interfering with justice around the shooting time – charges they deny.
Deadly Revenge Over Nightclub Row
The court heard Veii’s deadly attack was sparked by a nightclub punch-up with Mitchell two years earlier.
“The murder appears to be an act of petty revenge after a fight at a nightclub a couple of years previously,” said prosecutor Joel Smith KC.
In May 2019, Mitchell reportedly punched Veii during a scuffle outside Granaries nightclub. During the chaos, another man was knocked down by a passing Volvo. Enraged, Veii smashed the car windows with a hammer.
When arrested, a “fuming” Veii claimed he was the victim, insisting he had been punched first. Meanwhile, Mitchell boasted to a friend about “knocking out Alpo” in the fight.
Shots Fired, Cover-Up Attempted
On the night of the murder, Veii and Dume-Gooden arrived at the party in a BMW around 2.10am. At 4.51am, guests heard a bang like a firework. Mitchell was found dead in the car park by a terrified partygoer fleeing the scene.
Neighbours reported hearing the gunshot, a woman screaming, and a man shouting for help.
“Mitchell was shot in the head at close range with a 12-bore shotgun. Police pronounced him dead at 5.26am,” prosecutor Smith revealed.
Veii and Dume-Gooden allegedly fled in the BMW, fitted with fake number plates. Days later, the car, clothes, and SIM cards were burned to destroy evidence. They then hid out in Somerset before daring to return to London.
No CCTV captured the shooting itself, but traffic cameras and mobile phone data directly linked the two suspects to the crime.
The gripping six-week murder trial continues at the Old Bailey.
