A MAN who punched and spat in his partner's face after stopping her from leaving his home has been jailed.
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The man appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to charges including unlawful assault and persistently breaching a family violence intervention order.
The court heard on June 18 last year, the man was with his partner in a taxi.
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After a disagreement about where the taxi should stop, the woman got out of the car and the man chased her.
The court heard he yelled at the woman and spat in her face twice, calling her a "f****** dog".
The man was arrested a short time later and taken in for questioning. He was charged but released on bail.
The court heard then on September 5, the man was using the drug ice when he started verbally abusing his partner.
About 7pm that day, the woman locked herself in her bedroom and called 000.
The court heard the man grabbed a large knife and stabbed at the door, yelling at her to be let inside.
He eventually barged his way in and grabbed her phone, smashing it against the wall.
The court heard the man spat on his partner's face and held her down. He pulled her hair and slapped her in the face.
The 000 call cut out when the phone was smashed, which alerted authorities.
Paramedics arrived at the property at 8.35pm. The victim was in a different bedroom, yelling for help when police arrived about 8.40pm.
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Officers heard the man screaming at the woman, refusing to let her leave.
The court heard the victim eventually got out of the house and police arrested the man.
Officers confiscated a large knife, which had blood and paint on it. The man had a cut on his left palm.
The court heard then on September 24, the man was again with the woman at his property.
The woman attempted to leave the house about 7am that morning but he stopped her.
The man grabbed her face and verbally abused her, while the woman begged him not to hit her.
She again tried to leave the house, making her way to the front yard. He charged after her, slapping her face and breaking her glasses.
The woman yelled for someone to call the police but the man still would not let her leave the property.
The man and the victim eventually both went back inside, and the victim went to the toilet where she tried to call her friend.
About 10.45am that day, the woman again attempted to leave the property. The court heard she was at the front steps when the man tried to stop her.
The woman was eventually able to run off and call 000. The woman made it to a nearby train station where she met with police.
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The court heard officers went to the man's home to arrest him but he refused to come out of the house, saying "if you want a siege, I'll give you a siege".
The man was eventually arrested and conveyed to hospital after he was deemed unfit for interview.
Defence lawyer Ennes Marcellus told the court the man had already been in custody for 161 days.
Mr Marcellus said the man's offending happened when he used illicit drugs while on medication for psychosis.
The defence lawyer said the man had been in a long-term relationship with the victim and that the relationship was toxic.
Mr Marcellus said his client wanted to "live a normal life".
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Alan Walker told the court the offending was serious.
The prosecutor said the man had 40 pages of prior convictions and that the man had been given all the help he could get.
Magistrate Rodney Higgins convicted and jailed the man for 14 months, with 161 days reckoned as already served.
If the man did not plead guilty, he would have received an 18-month prison sentence.
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