A young man was shot dead in Mitcham in a misguided attempt to get retribution for a stabbing, a court heard. 

Tyrese Miller, 22, may have been “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when he was blasted in the chest with a shotgun on Croydon Road, the Old Bailey heard. 

Four men from south west London are on trial for his murder which happened last April 4.   

Prosecution Bill Emlyn Jones KC said another man, named Prince Miller, was stabbed in south London shortly before midnight last April 3. 

Having survived, he did not want police involved and instead went to his friends who swiftly responded, jurors heard. 

In just two-and-a-half hours, Denzel Kwateng, 21, and Armani McClymont, 21, got a gun and Kavaun Morrison, 19, and Manuel Paulo, 20, fetched a stolen car on false plates, it was alleged. 

They travelled across south London towards the area where their friend was stabbed, it was claimed. 

Mr Emlyn Jones 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. 

“This group’s revenge was swift and it was lethal. It was also tragically misguided.” 

Mr Emlyn Jones said it was clear the victim had not stabbed Mr Miller and had been enjoying a night out in a pub with friends at the time. 

The prosecutor went on: “In fact, there was an extensive investigation and the police have been unable to establish any link between the stabbing and our victim Tyrese. 

“Prince Miller never told the police who stabbed him, but of course he’d have told his mates who stabbed him before they set out to commit their act of tit-for-tat violence in revenge. 

“On the other hand, it remains entirely possible that Tyrese was just tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

“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.” 

After the shooting, Mr Miller’s girlfriend Azariah James-Gulston, 20, from Croydon, and their friend Ky-mani Elliott, 20, from Lewisham, helped get rid of the car, which was set alight on playing fields, it was claimed. 

A 17-year-old youth and 29-year-old Cheick Cisse collected the gun but were caught by police with it in the back of an Uber, the prosecution alleges. 

Kwateng, from New Addington, McClymont, of Thornton Heath, Morrison and Paulo, from Tooting, deny murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. 

Kwateng, Elliott and James-Gulston deny perverting the course of justice by assisting in the destruction of the Toyota car. 

Cisse, from Croydon, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because of his age, deny possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. 

The trial continues.