The fright of having four armed men try to force their way into a Wodonga father's house was made worse when the victim found out the ringleader was someone who had always been welcome in his home.
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Eric Chew, 21, picked the London Road house because he believed it would be an easy target to steal drugs and cash.
He faced the consequences of that decision on Wednesday in Wodonga County Court when Judge Christopher Ryan sentenced him to four and a half years in jail - he will be eligible for parole after serving two and a half years.
The father made a victim impact statement to the court before the sentencing.
"He was especially angry at you Chew because you had grown up with his eldest son and were always welcome in his home," Judge Ryan said.
"It is clear that you were the leader of this group of home invaders."
He was the first through the door, armed with a baseball bat, and also struck the 57-year-old victim in the leg with the weapon.
Kayne Phillips, 29, who had followed Chew inside the house waving a hammer, was sentenced to four years, with a minimum of two years.
Garry Burns, 23, who had a cricket bat and Damon Mirkovic, who brandished a hammer were stuck outside, unable to get through the door. Burns was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, with a minimum of 18 months.
They have already served some time on remand.
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Mirkovic is yet to be sentenced, after he delayed in organising a lawyer to represent him in court.
All four men pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, plus Chew also pleaded guilty to an extra charge of unlawful assault on the victim.
Judge Ryan said the aggravated burglary was serious, fuelled by ice and made worse by the fact that the four men both drove and walked past the house before making the decision to go ahead.
"You had the opportunity to walk away from the crime you planned to commit," he said.
Chew, Phillips and Burns had a history of violence crimes, but Judge Ryan said he also took into account various issues in their upbringings that led to drug use.
Family of the three men were in court on Wednesday and had tears as the jail sentences were announced.
Prisoner smoked a joint in custody
Cannabis was smuggled into the Wodonga police station's holding cells last month, so a man awaiting sentence in court could smoke a joint.
Crown prosecutor Nick Goodenough told Wodonga County Court on Wednesday that after Garry Burns was taken into custody on October 25, following a guilty plea for aggravated burglary, he was provided with drugs.
He said CCTV cameras showed the cannabis being passed through the perspex window to Burns.
Burns rolled the cannabis into four joints and smoked one when with others in the visitor's area on October 27.
When officers noticed the smell, they found the butt and three other joints.
"He was spoken to about that and said 'I'm sorry, officer'," Mr Goodenough said.
Judge Christopher Ryan said it showed Burns was not completed free from cannabis, as his lawyer had told the court.
