Denzel Kwateng, of Parkway, New Addington, was jailed for a minimum of 16 years, for manslaughter, possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, and perverting the course of justice.
The court heard that in 2021, Kwateng had killed another man, 17-year-old Denardo Samuels-Brooks, but then had been acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.
On this occasion, having shot Miller in the chest at point-blank range, Kwateng was convicted of the lesser charge, rather than murder, after claiming that the gun had gone off by accident. Judge Sarah Munro KC issued a life sentence, saying, “You showed a reckless disregard for the consequences of your actions.”
Kwateng was found guilty at a trial in May this year, where two others – Cheick Cisse, 29, of Pawsons Road, Thornton Heath and Mario Serban, 18, of Eltham, Greenwich, – were found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Killer: Denzel Kwateng, given a life sentence, to serve a minimum of 16 years
Cisse was yesterday sentenced to seven years in prison and Serban was given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order.
Miller’s family meanwhile, remain grief stricken at the callous and vicious killing. “We died alongside Tyrese,” his sister said outside court yesterday.
In the early hours of April 4, 2023, Tyrese Miller was walking home after a night out with friends when he was gunned down, the innocent victim of a gang revenge attack. During Kwateng’s trial earlier this year, the Old Bailey heard that Miller was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
At the trial, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said another man, named Prince Miller, had been stabbed in Croydon earlier that night. Having survived, he did not want police involved and instead went to his friends.
In just two-and-a-half hours, Kwateng and others got a gun and fetched a stolen car on false plates. Mr Emlyn Jones KC said: “When they got to Mitcham, they drove after a young man named Tyrese Miller and, when they caught up with him, they shot and killed him. He was shot in the chest with a shotgun from close range.
Tyrese Miller had had nothing to do with the previous incident.
Sentencing: Judge Sarah Munro said Kwateng ‘showed a reckless disregard for the consequences of your actions’
“This group’s revenge was swift and it was lethal. It was also tragically misguided,” said the prosecutor.
Mr Emlyn Jones KC added: “It is possible that he was shot either in a case of mistaken identity or that he was shot just because the defendants were looking to send a message by shooting any young man they happened to find in that particular part of town.”
Sentencing yesterday, Judge Munro KC told the court that Kwateng was “looking for someone to shoot”.
The judge said: “You took up the loaded gun, pointed it at Tyrese and it went off.
“You drove off, leaving him to die in the street.”
Following the trial, the jury found Kwateng guilty of manslaughter, but not murder. However, the judge emphasised that she believed Kwateng was a dangerous offender, and sentenced the 22-year-old to life imprisonment.
Bag carrier: Cheick Cisse
Cisse and Serban had been arrested after being seen “acting suspiciously”, according to the Met Police, near Gloucester Road, Croydon, at around 5.40pm on April 6, 2023.
The pair were stopped by police a short distance away when travelling in an Uber. Inside the taxi was a shotgun and cartridges, all contained in a bag that detectives had established Kwateng had been carrying on the morning of the shooting.
When searched, Serban was carrying a machete while Cisse had a lock knife.
Forensic analysis of the bag revealed a match for Kwateng’s DNA.
Kwateng later admitted being in possession of the gun but claimed it fired accidentally.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley led the investigation, which he said, “has painstakingly gathered evidence to put the defendants before the court”.
Armed: Mario Serban
DCI Jolley said: “My team has carefully pieced together their various movement, using CCTV and other footage along with forensic material and data obtained from mobile devices to cross-check how events unfolded that evening.
“I have spoken with Tyrese’s family and, although the trial has not provided them with the complete picture that they had wished for, I have expressed my sincere hope that they can obtain some degree of comfort from the sentences handed down today.”
Speaking at the sentencing was Tyrese Miller’s mother, Jackie, said, “I loved everything about Tyrese, he was my only son.
“I miss everything about my son. I miss his hugs, his cooking. I even miss the most annoying bits about him. You couldn’t be angry with Tyrese for long, he was so, so funny.
“When the police came and told me what had happened, all I could think about was how to tell my girls. Telling my daughters he’d been killed, let alone a shooting, murder, was the hardest thing I had ever had to do.
Murder victim: Tyrese Miller
“The most hurtful thing was when my son was buried, my daughter had to pick an outfit for him to wear, and he couldn’t wear it because of what you did, the impact of what you lot did to my son’s body.
“When my son was shot, his chest was damaged. All we could do was lay his clothes on top of him.
“Sometimes I lie there listening to the door at night waiting for him to come home.
“I see my son’s face in everything I do but I can’t touch him.”
Read more: Police arrest four men in connection with Mitcham shooting
Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s borough with most murder victims
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