Tristian Scutcheon, 23, and his father Geoffrey Paul Scutcheon had been staying with a friend in Ouyen, south of Mildura, and on November 1, 2020 they both drove to Mildura in separate cars to meet a relative.

The court heard Geoffrey Scutcheon had developed a 'grievance' with the friend in the period leading up to the trip.

The friend pulled over on the side of the road in Mildura to discuss directions for the next part of the trip and the 'brutal' and 'cowardly' offending followed.

The court heard Tristian Scutcheon approached the driver's side of the man's car armed with a crow bar and struck him multiple times, while his father was on the passenger side preventing the victim from escaping.

The court heard the victim was ultimately allowed to leave and Tristian Scutcheon drove away in the stolen car, leaving the victim bleeding from the head on the side of the road.

The victim needed eight staples to his head.

"You are to be sentenced for forming an arrangement with your father to assault the victim and steal his car," Judge Michael Bourke said in the County Court in Mildura on Tuesday.

"It must be found there was some pre-planning... you took a weapon to the car."

Tristian Scutcheon was later arrested on the Sunraysia Highway in Donald after he crashed into a telephone pole.

Police had attempted to intercept him earlier in Birchip but he sped off.

Tristian Scutcheon has been in custody since his arrest on November 2020.

He served an 11 month jail sentence for prior offending including a charge of conduct endangering life during that time.

Geoffrey Scutcheon was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order for his role in the attack, which Judge Bourke said was considerably different and he also had a lack of prior criminal history.

Judge Bourke said Tristian Scutcheon's life has been plagued by drug abuse, with cannabis use beginning at age 12 and methamphetamine at 15.

"By the time of this offending you had developed a daily habit of three to seven grams (of methamphetamine)," he said.

The court heard he has prior convictions for driving, dishonesty, violence and drug-related offending.

"It seems evident that the major factor in causing dysfunction and hardship to your life has been drug abuse," Judge Bourke said.

"Armed robbery is a serious violent offence. During the course of it you intentionally caused significant injury with a dangerous weapon and attacked him while he was unable to escape his car.

"It was brutal and quite cowardly offending."

Judge Bourke said he considered many sentencing factors, including Tristian Scutcheon's young age which meant a sentence should support rehabilitation and recovery from drug dependence.

He was sentenced to a two-year and 10-month jail term with a minimum term of 16-months.

He has already served 208 days of pre-sentence detention.

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