Strathdale man Garry Collins, 42, was jailed this week for five months and placed on a community corrections order for a slew of offences committed earlier this year.

The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard Collins threw a man to the ground after the victim ended their friendship in late January.

The following week he snatched a phone from a woman he was travelling with, annoyed it had started ringing, and never returned it.

A couple of days later, he went to the woman's home but became upset when asked to enter via the back door, so he rammed a car at the address with his vehicle, pushing it into a brick wall.

Collins left but returned a short time later and swerved towards the woman and another man, who were outside inspecting the damaged car, and knocked over a mailbox before leaving.

The man owned the damaged car, but did not know Collins.

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The man had just driven his car out into the street when Collins returned and smashed into its rear.

The man tried to flee Collins in his car, but Collins tailed him at a close distance for about five minutes.

When the victim came to a stop at a red light at the intersection of Russell and Olinda streets, Collins again crashed into the rear of the car.

The victim got out of his car and ran when he saw Collins had exited his vehicle with a hammer.

Collins got back into his vehicle and chased the victim, even crossing onto the wrong side of the road to try run him over, forcing the man to seek refuge in backyards and a nearby pub.

Police attended after receiving multiple reports and stopped Collins.

In his car they found the hammer and a knife. Collins was later found to be carrying a small amount of methamphetamine.

In February, Collins arranged a test drive of a vehicle parked in Strathdale with a 'for sale' sign.

During the drive Collins did burnouts in a public street and 'snaked' the vehicle up the road.

Two days later, the car's owner again had the vehicle parked in Strathdale when Collins arrived, punched him in the jaw and said, "Give me the keys, I want the car".

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Later that week, the victim saw Collins parked outside his next-door neighbour's house and was so fearful for the safety of his family, police applied for an intervention order.

In the early hours of February 19, a man was asleep in a Strathfieldsaye bus shelter when Collins drove his vehicle into the car park, shone his headlights on him, and yelled at him, "Did my friend get home alright?"

The man had seen Collins the previous day at a pub, but did not know him.

Collins yelled at the man again, punched him hard in the nose and walked away.

The victim began gathering his belongings but Collins returned and grabbed his trolley of possessions.

There was a struggle in which Collins kneed the man in the chin and kicked him in the torso.

Just a few days later, Collins was at a Kennington pub when he walked up to a stranger and punched him in the nose.

Then on February 25, Collins again punched another man in the nose, this time a security guard at an RSL.

Witnesses heard thuds from punches and saw Collins standing over the victim.

Collins pleading guilty this week to three charges of unlawful assault, three counts of recklessly causing injury, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, two counts of criminal damage, wilfully damaging property, dangerous driving, stalking, theft, possessing a controlled weapon, possessing methamphetamine, and two charges of committing an indictable offence on bail.

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Defence counsel Deniz Yildirim submitted his client should be sentenced to time served - about three months - and a community corrections order.

He said the offending was drug and alcohol-related and his client was angry and depressed, having lost his job and been made homeless before the offending.

But magistrate Patrick Southey said there were a large number of serious violence charges against multiple victims.

He sentenced Collins to five months' imprisonment with an 18-month corrections order with drug, alcohol, mental health and offender behaviour treatment.

Collins received a one-month discount on his sentence because of the COVID-19 situation.

The court later heard statements from three of the victims, detailing the long-lasting physical, emotional and mental impacts of the crimes against them.

"It is... vicious, cowardly behaviour against innocent victims. It's badly impacted their lives," Mr Southey said, noting he likely would have imposed a longer sentence had he heard the victims' statements before giving his sentence indication.

Collins was also banned from driving for six months.

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