Man jailed for his role in 2021 killing of teenager

A man has been jailed for his role in killing a teenager four years ago – after fleeing to The Gambia to avoid justice.

Romario Gordon, 22 (13.07.2003), of St Helens Grove, Monkston, was jailed for 13 years at the Old Bailey on Monday, 17 November.

On Thursday, 25 September, a jury at the Old Bailey found Gordon guilty of the manslaughter of 16-year-old Camron Smith in Croydon.

Gordon was part of a group of males who forced their way into Camron’s home on Thursday, 1st July 2021, where they killed him in a brutal attack.

Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend, from Specialist Crime South, said:

"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.

"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 called to an address in Bracken Avenue, Croydon, at 00:48hrs on Thursday, 1 July 2021.

Officers attended with the London Ambulance Service. They found Camron, who was treated at the scene for stab wounds, but, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.

The defendant and his associates were linked to the attack by DNA recovered by forensic officers inside a stolen minicab. This was found abandoned in Hastings Road, Lower Addiscombe.

The group had called the cab to Fieldend Road, Streatham, on the evening of Wednesday, 30 June. When the taxi arrived, the group held a knife to the driver’s throat. They ultimately made off with his car.

The subsequent movements of the group were captured on CCTV recovered by investigators. The group were armed with knives, and were looking for people that they associated with the stabbing of one of their friends in Pawson’s Road, Croydon, on the afternoon of Wednesday, 30 June.

The gang entered three homes in Croydon. The first was not occupied by the person they were looking for, and the occupier awoke to find a masked male in her bedroom.

The group gained access to the second address they visited but left within seconds and so moved on to the third address, at Bracken Avenue, where they kicked down the door to Camron’s home.

They chased the victim into his mother’s bedroom, where they killed him.

Through flight records, investigators established that Gordon had fled to The Gambia via Heathrow Airport on Saturday, 3 July 2021 – mere days after the murder. The Met issued an international arrest warrant and continued to make enquiries. Gordon returned to the UK in August 2023, and was arrested.