A man has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in the killing of a teenager four years prior, having fled to The Gambia to evade justice.
Romario Gordon, 22 (born 13 July 2003), residing on St Helens Grove in Monkston, received a 13-year prison term at the Old Bailey on Monday, 17 November.
On Thursday, 25 September, a jury at the Old Bailey convicted Gordon of the manslaughter of 16-year-old Camron Smith in Croydon.
Gordon was part of a group that forcibly entered Camron’s home on Thursday, 1 July 2021, where they committed a violent attack that resulted in his death.
Investigation and Arrest
Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend from Specialist Crime South remarked:
„Camron was just 16 when his life was brutally ended in a frenzied attack in his own home. Our thoughts are with Camron’s friends and family.“
She added, „Today’s sentencing marks the culmination of a complex and lengthy investigation. I hope it brings a measure of closure for all involved.“
Police were summoned to an address on Bracken Avenue, Croydon, at 00:48 hours on Thursday, 1 July 2021. Officers, accompanied by the London Ambulance Service, discovered Camron receiving treatment for stab wounds. Despite the emergency services‘ efforts, he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Details of the Attack
Gordon and his accomplices were connected to the attack through DNA evidence collected by forensic officers inside a stolen minicab, which was later abandoned on Hastings Road in Lower Addiscombe. The group had summoned the taxi to Fieldend Road, Streatham, on the evening of Wednesday, 30 June. Upon the taxi’s arrival, they threatened the driver with a knife and subsequently made off with the vehicle.
Investigators obtained CCTV footage that tracked the group, which was armed with knives and searching for individuals linked to a prior stabbing incident involving one of their associates in Pawson’s Road, Croydon, on the afternoon of the same day.
The gang attempted to enter three homes in Croydon, one of which was unoccupied. The second home was accessed briefly before they proceeded to the third residence on Bracken Avenue, where they forcibly entered Camron’s home and fatally attacked him as he sought refuge in his mother’s bedroom.
Through flight records, authorities determined that Gordon fled to The Gambia via Heathrow Airport on Saturday, 3 July 2021, just days following the murder. The Metropolitan Police issued an international arrest warrant and continued their investigation. Gordon returned to the UK in August 2023 and was subsequently arrested.
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