Defendants due back in court in May

Three men have denied murdering an electrician from Queen’s Park who was shot dead outside a KFC restaurant.

Daniel Smith, 22, was gunned down as he returned to his car in Paddington, in the early hours of May 22, 2010.

The single bullet passed through both of his lungs before striking his heart during the shooting in Harrow Road.

Appearing in custody, Kervine Kavuala, 26, Shane Lewis, 32, and Zeleke Forde, 30, spoke only to confirm their identities and enter not guilty pleas during a brief hearing at the Old Bailey.

A fourth defendant, 25-year-old Jonathan Yeboah, is charged with obtaining a gun for the gang.

All four men will return to court on May 28 to stand trial over the death of Mr Smith, who lived with his mother and two sisters in Paddington, central London.

Kavuala, of Granville Road, Kilburn, Forde, of Otley Way, Watford, and Lewis, of Fairlight Avenue, Harlesden, all deny murder.

Yeboah, of no fixed address, denies separate charges of encouraging and assisting murder, and encouraging and assisting in the possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.