It had been eight months since Ben Anderson split up with his girlfriend and the mother of his young son when he was out drinking with friends and sent her 21 abusive text messages, a court has heard.
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Anderson's ex-girlfriend, Danielle McNamara, was in bed later that night with her new boyfriend, Mitchell Clague, when Anderson burst through their bedroom door at 4am on August 16 last year.
Ms McNamara's 16-month-old son was in a cot near the bed as Anderson dragged Mr Clague out of bed and threw several punches at him.
"Clague landed on the floor," Court of Appeal Justices Mark Weinberg and Joseph Santamaria said on Thursday when rejecting Anderson's appeal against his jail sentence.
"The appellant (Anderson) then moved towards McNamara and was about to punch her when Clague overpowered him.
"The appellant then struggled with Clague, grabbing him by the throat in a choking manner, and inflicting minor injuries upon him. These included red marks, swelling, and soreness to his neck.
"The appellant was forced outside and the door was locked behind him."
The appeal judges said Anderson smashed a window at the house before Ms McNamara's stepfather escorted him off the property.
Anderson then broke a window in Mr Clague's car that was parked on the street before running to a friend's house.
He was arrested soon after the attack and escorted back to his home where police found a .223 rifle in his loungeroom and numerous rounds of ammunition.
Anderson, 27, pleaded guilty in the County Court at Bairnsdale to charges of aggravated burglary, recklessly causing injury and intentionally damage property and was jailed for three years and four months with a non-parole period of 20 months.
He appealed against the sentence, claiming it was manifestly excessive but the appeal judges disagreed.
The judges said the Crown argued that Anderson had to be jailed because his offending "involved a home invasion, in the dead of night, in the presence of a young child".
"The appellant had been drinking prior to the incident, and had become aggressive towards his former partner. This was evidenced by the spate of earlier abusive text messages. In other words, this was a serious example of aggravated burglary," the judges said.
