Grovedale shooting accused Jordan Doodt acquitted of causing injuries to Harrison McGovern over love triangle

A jury has ruled Grovedale man Jordan John Doodt was acting in self-defence when he shot another man on a major road. Here’s what was at the centre of their bitter feud.

A jury has accepted Grovedale man Jordan John Doodt acted in self-defence when he shot another man on the Surf Coast Highway as tensions boiled over in a bitter love triangle.

Doodt, 27, was acquitted of two charges of causing serious injury to Marshall man Harrison McGovern in the Geelong County Court on Tuesday, following a trial that ruled on two events during the early hours of July 7, 2019.

On Wednesday, Doodt will face a plea hearing after he pleaded guilty to shooting at Mr McGovern’s house and being a prohibited person with a gun.

Those charges relate to the bitter rivalry between Doodt and Mr McGovern, developed after Mr McGovern slept with Doodt’s one-time girlfriend, Geelong woman Amber Mayhew, in 2019.

At trial defence barrister Benjamin Lindner told the jury Doodt shot Mr McGovern while being attacked on the Surf Coast Highway.

Harrison McGovern was shot on Torquay Rd, Grovedale, in July 2019.

Jordan Doodt acquitted of two charges of causing serious injury

He accused Mr McGovern of being a drug-fuelled “vigilante” who was wielding a sledgehammer and wanted revenge after the initial shooting at his home.

Mr McGovern told the jury he thought he was going to die after being shot during the confrontation.

“I was bleeding really badly and I had a warm, weird sensation in my stomach. I thought I was going to die at the time,” Mr McGovern said.

The court heard Mr McGovern lost 400ml of blood, needed surgery to remove a bullet from his bowel and ended up in the intensive care unit at The Alfred after he was shot with a homemade gun.

A barrister for Doodt told the court at an earlier hearing his client was not present at both shootings.

County Court Judge Michael Tinney said in court on Tuesday that as the trial approached, Doodt changed his position.

Amber Mayhew was involved in a love triangle that led to two shootings in Geelong

The trial heard that Doodt admitted shooting Mr McGovern, and at his house.

The court was told on Tuesday Doodt, who has been in custody since July 8,2019, was on bail at the time of the shootings for possessing the drug ice.

The court heard in the lead-up to the shootings, Doodt and Mr McGovern exchanged a series of angry text messages.

In one exchange over social media Doodt called Mr McGovern a “dog” while in another Mr McGovern asked Doodt why he was making threats to shoot him.

Tensions boiled over at 4.10am on July 7, 2019, when Doodt fired a bullet through a garage roller door at Mr McGovern’s home which injured another man Cameron Pamvouxoglou.

Originally published as Grovedale shooting accused Jordan Doodt acquitted of causing injuries to Harrison McGovern over love triangle