Judge Sean Grant said ultimately all that was left was the "protection of the community" from Andrew Michael Crighton.

That, he said, "remains a most important consideration in this case".

Crighton, 34, was jailed on Tuesday for three years and four months over his latest offending, where he barged into a man's house armed with a claw hammer.

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The victim, a relative of Crighton, was in the lounge room with his two-year-old child asleep on his shoulder.

His other children, aged 5 and 18 months, were asleep on a nearby mattress.

Crighton stood in front of the man with the hammer in what police described as "an intimidating manner".

He had only just entered the Lavington house through the closed yet unlocked front door, having - over the previous few days - made inquiries with family members as to the whereabouts of his ex-partner.

The first thing he said to the victim, was: "Where the f ... is she, you dog?"

The man replied he didn't know.

Crighton grabbed the man's mobile phone to try to find contact details for his ex-partner.

He then put the claw hammer on a table and left. The victim followed, but when Crighton saw him outside he got out of his car and ran at him in an "aggressive" way.

The frightened victim quickly went back inside.

Crighton pleaded guilty at his earliest opportunity to a single charge of aggravated break and enter and commit a serious indictable offence with people present.

Judge Grant said that qualified Crighton to a 25 per cent sentencing discount.

He also noted how the threat posed by him arming himself with the hammer was not an aggravating factor.

"The intimidation (as established in the charge) was through his general demeanour and the presence of the claw hammer," he said.

The incident happened on January 19, about 1.45pm, with Crighton arrested and refused bail on January 30

Judge Grant said that while Crighton had demonstrated scant insight into his offending - the court heard he had considerable anger management issues that meant he lashed-out when stressed, a behavioural anomaly greatly exacerbated by his addiction to methamphetamine - he had successfully completed several programs in jail.

"One hopes on his release he will continue to do the same and become a law-abiding member of the community."

Nevertheless, Judge Grant said that had not been the pattern of Crighton's life, as "he does not respect the law or the rules of society".

Crighton will be eligible for release on parole on July 29, 2021.