A MAN who smashed his way into an Eglinton property to viciously assault the home owner has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years, with a non parole period of seven years.
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Taylar Gregory Noonan, now 26, had previously pleaded guilty to a string of charges relating to the assault, including grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was sentenced before Acting Judge O'Connor in the Bathurst District Court on Friday afternoon.
Noonan was arrested by police just days after the assault in August 2017 and has remained in custody since.
On Friday, the District Court heard how Noonan, armed with an axe, smashed his way into the victim's home with the intention of cutting off his fingers over an historical grievance.
Noonan had earlier stolen an axe from Bunnings and CCTV taken from near the victim's house showed Noonan, in a stolen vehicle, driving past the victim's home on August 2, 2017.
At around 5.15pm witnesses heard shouting and smashing glass. They saw a man, later identified as Noonan, striking at the front door with a hammer.
The court heard Noonan used a hatchet to smash windows and force his way into the premises, demanding the victim lay down on the floor.
When the victim refused he struck him a number of times to the head, arms and abdomen with the axe. The victim was later found by his wife lying in a pool of blood.
An unprovoked, sustained and ferocious attack, which may well have had fatal consequences.
- Acting Judge O'Connor
She immediately called emergency services and the victim, critically injured in the attack, was flown to Sydney in an induced coma.
In sentencing, Acting Judge O'Connor took into account Noonan's early guilty plea which entitled him to a 25 per cent discount on sentencing and found special circumstances.
He also took into account the profound impact the assault has had on the victim and his family.
Judge O'Connor said the nature of the victim's injuries placed the offence at the higher end of seriousness, calling the assault as an "unprovoked, sustained and ferocious attack, which may well have had fatal consequences".
Judge O'Connor accepted the defendant's early childhood was disrupted by both his father's drug addiction and death followed by his mother's suicide.
The court also took into account Noonan's history of mental illness and a psychiatrist's report diagnosing him with schizophrenia.
Judge O'Connor found the offensive use of a weapon, the fact the assault occurred in the home of the victim, and the planning that went into the offence were aggravating features.