Leeds van thief guilty of murdering Amazon delivery driver

Yorkshire Evening Post

A thief who purposely crashed a stolen Amazon delivery van to kill the owner who was clinging onto the door has been found guilty of murder.  Mark Ross was convicted by a jury at Leeds Crown Court following a six-day trial.  The 32-year-old stole the van with its owner, Claudiu-Carol Kondor, hanging onto the passenger door and his feet scraping along the road.

Transcript

00:00It was here that, just before 7pm on Tuesday August 20th last year, that delivery driver

00:10Claudio Carroll Condor was delivering packages in the area of Conference Road in Armley.

00:15The man who would be responsible for his death, Mark Ross, lived just a few doors away. CCTV

00:21shows Ross walking up and down the street like any other passerby and Claudio would

00:25have had no idea of his criminal intentions and the tragic consequences that they would

00:30bring. After Claudio pulled his van here onto Alliance Street to deliver to another address,

00:36Ross saw his opportunity and jumped into the driver's seat. But Claudio spotted him and

00:42tried to intervene as Ross sped off onto Wingate Road. Claudio was a decent, hard-working man

00:50and he was determined not to let this thief take his livelihood. For half a mile he clung

00:56desperately to the open passenger door whilst Ross swerved at speed. Shocked witnesses heard

01:03Claudio shouting for help, clearly in fear for his life. The van initially struck a parked

01:10car further up Heights Drive before reaching this point where it collided again with another

01:15vehicle, this time throwing Claudio off and leaving him fatally injured. That was a deliberate

01:22act by Ross, an attempt to knock Claudio off and escape regardless of the consequences.

01:29Without any thought for the harm he caused, Ross arranged for the van to be taken to Broon

01:34Nook in Belle Isle to be stripped of its parcels before it was abandoned here in Highlands

01:40Walk. It was later found by officers following the on-board tracker and detectives from the

01:46Homicide and Major Inquiry Team carried out extensive house-to-house in the area. They

01:52found a witness to the abandoning of the vehicle. That, combined with the CCTV, took us to Mark

01:59Ross as a suspect. Ross was subsequently arrested, interviewed and charged with the

02:25murder of Claudio Carroll Condor. Claudio came to the UK to make a better life for himself.

02:33His work colleagues describe him as not only a valued member of the team, but also a friend

02:38and a confidant. He was a familiar, friendly face for everyone that he delivered to. Claudio's

02:46partner, who also came to the UK for work, has since returned to Romania. She sees no

02:51future here for her. She and Claudio's family have been left devastated by Claudio's death.

03:01It's genuinely heartbreaking that the life of an honest, hard-working man has been snatched

03:07away by the cruel and callous actions of Mark Ross. But, through the hard work, dedication

03:16and commitment of everyone involved, from those initial attending officers, through

03:21the public who provide information and CCTV, to the analytical and support staff and the

03:26detectives there in court at the end, we've been able to provide justice for Claudio and

03:33his family.

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