Jayden Ngaro Maki, 28, became upset his ex-girlfriend’s new partner was bonding with his children and told her if he saw the man in public he would "smash him over", the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
It would be "no meet and greet", the defendant stressed.
The next day, June 22 last year, before a chance meeting eventuated, Maki took matters into his own hands.
He turned up at his ex-partner’s home with 29-year-old Joshua David Durst and a third man, refusing to leave when she asked.
Seeing Maki’s demeanour, the woman fled with her children, leaving her new boyfriend alone inside.
After briefly pacing the footpath outside the house, the defendant entered the property through a back door.
Finding the partially clothed man in bed, he challenged him to a fight.
The ensuing brawl rumbled through the house and spilled out of the back door, where Durst had been waiting.
Together, he and Maki gained the upper hand, subjecting the man to a flurry of blows.
"The victim was confined on the stair landing, unable to move away," court documents said.
"Durst was wearing heavy work boots and kicked the victim approximately four times."
Maki picked up a heavy glass ashtray and slammed it into the head and body of the man at least five times before they left the scene.
The court heard the victim suffered abrasions and soreness to various areas of his torso, but held no grudge against Maki.
Judge David Robinson said the man’s statement struck a "remarkably conciliatory tone".
"He forgives you and hopes you can find a way to heal from the background trauma so you can be a real father to your children."
In contrast, Maki minimised his own role in the fiasco, "seeking to paint yourself as something of a victim", the judge said.
He acknowledged the men had a text-message exchange beforehand which suggested they were both prepared to settle their differences with their fists.
Maki was on bail at the time of the attack after being charged a month earlier with the burglary of a South Dunedin liquor store, which ended in a fatal crash, killing 26-year-old Michael McClelland.
However, the charge against him was ultimately dropped.
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said her client had been exposed to domestic violence and substance use from an early age.
Despite that he had owned his own business and had gone through productive periods during his adulthood.
"But when things become difficult ... he hasn’t had the skills to deal with that," she said.
Maki had a history of violence and was assessed as presenting a medium risk of reoffending.
He was convicted of burglary, injuring with intent to injure and breaching a protection order, and jailed for two years, five months.
Durst was jailed for 18 months earlier this year.
