A recidivist violent offender with "a horrible history'' has added three more convictions to a long criminal record.
Douglas Te Amo (55) was on parole, living with a woman in July last year, following another jail stint.
The pair argued and he lost control.
The Dunedin District Court last week heard how Te Amo swept items off a wooden coffee table before wielding it as a weapon.
He struck the woman, who fell to the ground. As she lay there, he continued to strike her with the table.
Judge Michael Crosbie said the victim tried to use her legs to shield herself from the blows and pleaded with Te Amo to stop.
After standing in the doorway to keep the woman in the room, the defendant grabbed her around the throat.
As he throttled her, he told the victim he was going to kill her.
``Suddenly'' though, he stopped and left the room to take the dog for a walk.
The woman, her face bloodied and bruised, took the opportunity to leave the house.
When police caught up with Te Amo, he admitted they had an argument but denied any violence.
Despite his guilty pleas to charges of male assaults female, assault with intent to injure and threatening to kill, it was a similar story when he met Probation before sentencing.
Judge Crosbie said Te Amo's denials were ``troubling'' particularly when viewed alongside his previous convictions.
``It's a horrible history, and what you did to this woman was equally horrible,'' he said.
Defence counsel John Westgate said his client had attended a course in prison while on remand to address his domestic-violence issues.
``It would appear his motivation is well and truly heading in the right direction,'' he said.
But the judge was far from convinced.
Judge Crosbie said Te Amo was doing well on parole before the incident which he described as: ``Aggressive, overbearing, violent conduct and a lack of respect for women''.
Te Amo was jailed for 18 months but because of time spent behind bars on remand, he will be released soon.
``Four weeks, bro,'' he told supporters as he left the court.
- Rob Kidd
