Denzel Kwateng, 22, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Tyrese Miller, 22, in Mitcham. The killing, which took place in April 2023, was described by police as an act of revenge following the stabbing of one of Kwateng’s friends earlier that day in Croydon.
Tyrese Miller was shot in the chest at close range with a shotgun on Croydon Road, near the junction with Beddington Lane. Despite Kwateng’s claims that the gun went off accidentally during a prank, a jury found him guilty of manslaughter, rejecting the charge of murder.
Kwateng had previously been acquitted of the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Denardo Samuels-Brooks in 2022. At the trial into Tyrese’s death, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC argued that Kwateng, enraged by the stabbing of his friend in Croydon hours earlier, had sought revenge, wrongly targeting Tyrese, who had been out with friends at a pub and had no involvement in the Croydon incident.
“When they caught up with him, they shot and killed him. He was shot in the chest with a shotgun from close range,” Emlyn Jones told the court.
On Friday, Kwateng was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 16 years before he can be considered for parole.
Two other individuals involved in the case were also sentenced. Cheick Cisse, 29, of Thornton Heath, and Mario Serban, 18, of Eltham, were found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Cisse was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Serban received an 18-month youth rehabilitation order.
The shotgun used in the killing was found in the possession of Cisse and Serban when police arrested them shortly after the shooting.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who led the investigation, praised the meticulous work of his team in securing the convictions: “This investigation has painstakingly gathered evidence to put the defendants before the court. My team has carefully pieced together their various movements using CCTV, forensic material, and mobile data to cross-check how events unfolded that evening.”
Tyrese Miller’s family has expressed their grief over the loss, and while the trial did not provide all the answers they had hoped for, DCI Jolley extended his condolences, saying, “I have expressed my sincere hope that they can obtain some degree of comfort from the sentences handed down today.”
The case has highlighted the tragic consequences of violent retaliation and mistaken identity, leaving Tyrese Miller’s family and the wider community devastated.
