Kyle Peacock: Young Walgett man involved in a brutal attack in Tamworth in February last year, appeals 12 month home detention

A young Walgett man placed in home detention for an attack that left one man unconscious with multiple serious injuries has appealed his sentence in the Dubbo District Court. Find out what happened.

A Walgett man who was placed in home detention for an attack that left one man unconscious with multiple serious injuries appealed his sentence on Tuesday.

Kyle Peacock, 21, appeared via audio visual link in Dubbo District Court after he was involved in an attack in Tamworth on February 6, 2021.

Documents tendered to Dubbo District Court reveal the victim was leaving a party in the early hours of February 6 when an altercation between two men unknown to him occurred.

A short time later, after walking away from the fight, a group of four people approached the victim and his friend.

Kyle Peacock appeared in Dubbo District Court on Tuesday. Picture: Facebook.

Following a back and forth, ‘offender one’ punched the victim with a straight left jab, “hitting him in the lip with such force it caused the victim’s lip to split”, agreed facts state.

The offenders followed the victim and his friend with the pair attempting to walk to Kamilaroi park, leading Peacock to call out to offender one, saying “hit the motherf****r … hit him, I got ya back”.

Peacock then pushed offender one into the victim as they started to throw punches, with offender two running at the victim’s friend, kicking and throwing punches at him.

The victim and his friend fell to the ground where the offenders “continued to kick them”.

The victim’s sister jumped on top of him to try and protect him as offender two kicked her in the face, “causing bruising underneath her right eye”.

Peacock and the two offenders continued to kick the victim in the head and chest, where he subsequently lost consciousness.

The victim woke up some time later, noticing “police lights and sirens”, although he felt very disoriented and had agonising pain in his jaw.

Officers approached the victim when he was “hunched over, heavily bleeding from his mouth and a blood splatter on his chest” as he was unable to stand up.

The victim was taken to Tamworth Base Hospital and later transferred to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle “due to the severity of the injuries”.

Agreed facts state he suffered two fractures to his jaw, lacerations to his lips and two lost teeth; he was released from hospital three days after the attack.

Due to his involvement, attempts were made to locate and arrest Peacock, with no success until May 11, 2021 where he was found in Walgett and taken to Tamworth Police Station and entered into custody.

Outside the gates of the courthouse in Dubbo where Kyle Peacock appeared via audio visual link in the district court.

The court heard from Peacock’s lawyer that he was seeking an amendment to his client’s sentence from the local court which placed him under house arrest as part of his 12-month intensive corrections order.

Peacock’s lawyer highlighted the sentence of a co-accused who received an intensive corrections order for 12 months with 100 hours of community service and an order to abstain from alcohol and non-prescription drugs.

“Mr Peacock was working during his bail and working at the organisation throughout his time before the court,” Mr Peacock’s lawyer said.

He said Peacock was unable to be employed and assist his grandmother with her medical conditions as a result of his home detention, as well as playing a role as a new father.

“There is a significant distance between his daughter and himself,” Mr Peacock’s lawyer said.

“In his apology, he has accepted his actions, and is remorseful (in) respect to what he has done.”

He requested that Judge Smith end the home detention.

Crown prosecutor Mr Gillies accepted Peacock’s lawyer’s stance, confirming that conduct from Peacock and one of the offenders “were of equal nature”, although saying the offence did cross the section five threshold.

Judge Smith said that he would be leaving the intensive corrections order for 12 months, however he agreed with Peacock’s lawyer that the sentence would be better served in the community with 120 hours of community service and an order for his client to abstain from alcohol and non-prescription drugs during this period.

“There is no issue that an ICO is appropriate,” Judge Smith said.

However he said that Peacock was given a worse sentence than the other offenders, saying there was no significant difference to warrant a harsher sentence.

Mr Smith spoke directly to Peacock explaining the ruling, “that is a jail sentence for one year, which started on March 15 this year and (it will) finish on March 14 next year.

“If you muck up in any way, it is inevitable one might think that you will go to jail.”

Peacock was ordered to make contact with a community corrections officer in Coonamble within the next seven days.