Joshua Williams, 23, was placed on a three-year community corrections order with 200 hours of unpaid community work after pleading guilty to the aggravated burglary, as well as trespassing and unlawful assault.

In July last year, Williams discovered damage to his car and believed the culprit to be a former employer, with whom he had had a dispute over pay.

Williams attended the employer's house and, after finding no one home, entered through a side window before leaving.

Four hours later he returned, but this time the victim was home.

Williams, armed with a metal bar, kicked the door and smashed a window panel, then spat through it at the victim.

CCTV footage played to the court showed Williams was in a rage and told the victim he was going to kill him.

More court news: Man cops jail sentence for carjacking, dealing drugs

The victim fled when Williams then kicked in another door and entered the house.

The victim's partner hid in a bedroom and called triple-0.

In the County Court on Friday, Judge David Brookes noted an employer of Wiliams', his partner, and his partner's mother had submitted positive references to the court.

Judge Brookes agreed Williams' guilty plea was a sign of remorse and noted he had no criminal history.

The court heard a community corrections order assessment found Williams was at low risk of reoffending, and Judge Brookes considered he had good prospects of rehabilitation if he continued to work on improving himself.

But Judge Brookes described the offending as "appalling behaviour" of the sort courts too often had to deal with and the community too often had to suffer.

More court news: Reckless driver to appeal jail sentence

He found he could satisfy sentencing requirements without imprisoning Williams.

But Judge Brookes warned him his freedom was not a foregone conclusion: he said Williams had been looking at a term of imprisonment and it took serious consideration to reach the final decision.

At a plea hearing earlier this month, Williams' lawyer Markorius Habib said the offending resulted from a loss of self-control and poor anger management.

"This is a completely out-of-character series of offences," he said.

Mr Habib had submitted his client ought to be sentenced to a community corrections order without a custodial sentence.

However, prosecutor David Cordy said the incident was a serious example of a confrontational aggravated burglary and a term of imprisonment with a corrections order was appropriate, as a message needed to be sent to the community.

As part of his community corrections order, Williams must undertake programs to reduce the chance of reoffending.

He must also pay $1095 in compensation to the victim.

If not for his guilty plea, Williams would have been sentenced to a year in prison.

Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.