Kody Whitmore in court for punching his girlfriend’s ex boyfriend

A teenage father-of-two has fronted Murgon court for punching an IGA worker at a Bundaberg shopping centre.

Kody Whitmore pleaded guilty to common assault at Murgon Magistrates Court.

A teenage father-of-two pleaded guilty to common assault at Murgon Magistrates Court on Tuesday after punching his girlfriend’s ex boyfriend at the Bundaberg Northway Plaza.

Police prosecutor Barry Stevens said Whitmore was at the Bundaberg Northway Plaza at about 7pm on September 18, 2023 when he approached an 18-year-old man who was the ex-partner of Whitmore’s current girlfriend.

CCTV footage from the shopping centre showed Whitmore “walking up to the victim from behind,” who was working at the IGA at the time.

Whitmore said something to the victim, which made him turn around where they exchanged words with each other for about “four seconds”.

“The defendant then raised his right hand and punched the victim in the left hand side of the face in a closed fist, causing the victim’s head to move backwards,” Sergeant Stevens said.

Kody Whitmore pleaded guilty to common assault at Murgon Magistrates Court.

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The court heard the victim did not retaliate to Whitmore’s initial assault.

“(Whitmore) and the victim then faced each other before the defendant then tackled the victim and threw him onto the ground with the defendant landing on top,” Sgt Stevens said.

Whitmore’s girlfriend separated the two before the victim got up and went back into the IGA to continue working, the court was told. The girlfriend is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Sgt Stevens said it was not until March, 2024 that police spoke to Whitmore, where he acknowledged the incident but declined to be interviewed.

Kody Whitmore pleaded guilty to common assault at Murgon Magistrates Court.

His lawyer, Babu Singh, said Whitmore and his partner moved to Murgon “a few months ago” where he now worked at the local BP service station.
Mr Singh said the young couple had two young children together.

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He said Whitmore felt “intimidated” by the victim and was “remorseful of his actions”.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair told Whitmore violence was not a solution to resolve issues with other people.

“You found out the hard way that settling any kind of dispute in this way is not something that you should do with your fists or by yourself,” Mr Sinclair said.

Whitmore was fined $350, with no conviction recorded.