Man to appear in court over murder of Leeds delivery driver

Man to appear in court over murder of Leeds delivery driver

Family Ceremony/West Yorkshire Police Claudiu-Carol KondorFamily Allowance/West Yorkshire Police

Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, from Sheffield, died when he tried to stop a thief who stole his van

A man has appeared in court accused of murdering a delivery driver who was killed in Leeds earlier this week.

Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, was fatally injured on Heights Drive in the city’s Armley neighbourhood on Tuesday night after he tried to stop a thief who stole the van he was driving.

Mark Ross, 32, appeared in Leeds Crown Court on Friday charged with murder.

Mr Ross, of Conference Road in Armley, spoke only to confirm his name and address during the brief hearing and was remanded in custody to appear at Leeds Crown Court on August 27.

Mr Kondor, from Sheffield, is believed to have been delivering an Amazon parcel to an address on Alliance Street in Armley at around 6.50pm (BST) on Tuesday when he caught someone trying to steal from his vehicle.

BBC/David Spereall Police at the scene on Heights Drive on Wednesday morningBBC/David Spereal

Police on scene at Heights Drive on Wednesday morning

Police say Kondor was hanging out of the passenger door as the van sped away, crashing into parked cars about a mile away before remaining in the road.

Although he received emergency care from doctors at the scene, he was later pronounced dead.

The van was later found abandoned in the Belle Isle area of ​​Leeds, about six miles away.

A 24-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday remains in custody, West Yorkshire Police said.

A woman who was arrested at the same time on suspicion of assisting a criminal has been released after investigation.

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